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The views and opinions expressed in this book are solely those of the author and do not reflect the views or opinions of Gatekeeper Press. Gatekeeper Press is not to be held responsible for and expressly disclaims responsibility of the content herein.

Cracker Jacked

Published by Gatekeeper Press 2167 Stringtown Rd, Suite 109 Columbus, OH 43123-2989 www.GatekeeperPress.com

Copyright © 2021 by Lawrence Sterling III All rights reserved. Neither this book, nor any parts within it may be sold or reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the author. The only exception is by a reviewer, who may quote short excerpts in a review.

The editorial work for this book is entirely the product of the author. Gatekeeper Press did not participate in and is not responsible for any aspect of this element.

ISBN (hardcover): 9781662912955 ISBN (paperback): 9781662912962

eISBN: 9781662917585

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The United States v Lawrence Sterling

Dear Ivette

Welcome Home

John George

High Speed

Cracker Jacked

Penal Code Section 141(b)

D.W.B

Poor Jesse Porter

Public Defender

The State of California v. Lawrence Sterling III

Roc

Lawrence Sterling v. The City of Hayward

Van Sex

Pettifogger

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

- Maya Angelou

Chapter 1

THE UNITED STATES V. LAWRENCE STERLING III

A snowy view of the Island from the flight deck onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln

When: Wednesday, August 6, 2008 4:15 a.m. Where: Home Depot parking lot - Livermore, California

I’m a good guy…you know, so I’m mindin’ my own business, headed to the Expedition after a long night of stocking paint at Home Depot in Livermore, California, where I was working at the time. I was approaching my truck in the parking lot, when all of a sudden, out of the shadows of the night, the Livermore Police Department, with pistols drawn, tells me to “Freeeze!!!” and to “get down on the ground!!” Scared shitless, I follow their commands, placed my hands behind my back, and was handcuffed. Hell, I was happy it was just the police! One of the police asked “if I was Lawrence Sterling” and if I had any problems with the military? I told him I was Lawrence. And then he asked me where my Glock was. “My Glock?” I asked. He said “yeah, I know you keep a Glock in a black case in your Expedition wherever you go.” I said “Damn, how do you know that!?” He said, “We got good computers…” LOL

…if by computers, he meant snitches.

I was then placed in the back seat of a police car. While I sat handcuffed, tired and confused as the police searched my truck, I noticed that the police officer forgot to conceal the information on his computer screen that shows who the caller was, the nature of the complaint, the number called from, the time they called, and any extra notes that the police may feel are useful for their safety when apprehending a suspect. For instance, i.e., ‘Suspect may be armed and dangerous’. In this case, my complainant felt it was necessary to inform the police that my Glock was on me. Turns out, my soon to be ex-wife thought it was a good idea to call the police on me and inform them that I was AWOL from the Navy because she was mad. She thought that telling the police I kept a pistol on me wherever I go was a nice touch. She overheard a conversation that my supervisor and I were having about females, divorce, and life in general a couple of hours earlier after my phone accidentally butt dialed her. After eavesdropping for over 20 minutes, she called the Livermore Police Department and would have them waiting in the parking lot for me after I got off work that morning at 4am. I had been AWOL for six months from the Navy and working part-time at Home Depot trying to figure out what my next move would be. The conversation between me and my supervisor really pissed her off, so she thought she would get back at me by turning me over to the police for being AWOL since February 2008. As I rode in the back seat on my way to Santa Rita County Jail, I knew that I would be in for the most difficult time of my life…up to that point. There was certainly more to come after that. Prior to going AWOL, I was a 2nd Class Petty Officer. I made it to E-5 in 3 years. I was the Weapons Department Junior Petty Officer of the Quarter for the first quarter of 2006.

As Ordnance Team Leader, I was a major contributor in ensuring the safe and expeditious offload of over 4.5 million pounds of ordnance valued at over $187 million, with no mishaps. (I.Y.A.O.Y.A.S.) As istrative Assistant for G-3 Division, I was responsible for creating and implementing an efficient filing system for over 110 divisional records, resulting in a 35% reduced turnaround time and 100% accurate ability of personnel records. After crossing the three year mark in the Navy, I was awarded the Good Conduct Medal in recognition of faithful, zealous, and obedient naval service. Before ing the Navy, I received a Bachelor’s Degree in Speech Communication from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Baylor is the largest Baptist university in the world. Baylor is also the oldest university in the state of Texas, and the only private school in the Big 12. To describe Baylor as the ‘Stanford of Texas’ would be wrong. To say that Stanford is the ‘Baylor of California’ is more accurate. After graduating in 2001, I worked as a substitute teacher at my alma mater, Bishop O’Dowd High School in Oakland, California. I had an excellent naval career and record to match, but once word got to the chain of command that I was being investigated for fraud, they treated me very bad. In other words, I was guilty before I even stood trial. Hell…it began six months before I was to go on terminal leave September 30, 2007, to be honorably discharged, when the ship’s NCIS investigator Michael DeFamio informed the Captain, my chain of command in the Weapons Department, and the Security Department (72nd Precinct) that he was conducting an investigation on me. Both departments that I was working in started to treat me as if I had been convicted already. I had to appear at captain’s mast for some trumped-up charges conspired by my supervisors. Following mast, the Captain put me on Ship’s restriction for 30 days, a month prior to me going AWOL, and reduced my rank from E-5 to E-4.

Ship’s restriction was annoying because I had to muster four times a day in my inspection-ready ‘Dress Blue’ uniform and recite the ‘Sailor’s Creed’ with the other individuals who were on restriction in the hangar bay. I also could not leave the ship when it was in port. I wasn’t even supposed to be there in the first place. I was extended involuntarily for an investigation led by special agent Michael DeFamio that exceeded three months after the date I was supposed to be discharged from the Navy. DeFamio informed my superiors that I was suspected of fraud and may have stolen up to $45,000 from the Navy in the course of a year. I only stayed 6 days in Santa Rita County Jail while I waited for the Navy desertion transporters to escort me from Santa Rita County jail, to Naval Brig Kitsap in Silverdale, Washington. They had me handcuffed to my waist as if I were a murderous felon. I was escorted through the Oakland International Airport and flown back to SeaTac Airport in Seattle. I’m not a huge fan of flying, and to be handcuffed on an airplane is twice as disturbing. Since I was apprehended instead of voluntarily turning myself over to the proper authorities, I was checked into Transient Personnel Unit Puget Sound at Naval Base Kitsap. Soon after meeting with the istration, comprising of the guards, counselor, family liaison, Priest and the Warden, I was introduced to my appointed lawyer, LT O’Brien. LT O’Brien and I didn’t get along at all. He had this look about him that I didn’t trust, and it was obvious by his attitude and body language that he made up his mind before actually looking into my case. LT O’Brien really didn’t believe anything I said, and eventually, I dismissed him as my counsel. LT David Fowler volunteered as lead counsel. At the first meeting with LT O’Brien is when I was presented with the case of ‘The United States v. Lawrence Sterling III’. This was the first time I was able to see what charges the Government had against me. There were six charges in all:

Charge I Violation of the UCMJ, Article 86 - accused me saying that I did on active duty, on or about 5 February 2008, without authority, absent myself from my unit USS Abraham Lincoln CVN 72 located at Everett, Washington, and did remain so absent until apprehended on or about August 6, 2008.

Charge II Violation of the UCMJ, Article 87 - accused me saying that I did, at USS Abraham Lincoln CVN 72, on or about 13 March 2008, through design miss the movement of the USS Abraham Lincoln with which I was required in the course of duty to move.

Charge III Violation of the UCMJ, Article 107 - accused me of saying that spouse and children were living in a different region than reported.

Charge IV Violation of the UCMJ, Article 132 - falsifying Government documents.

Charge V Violation of the UCMJ, Article 121 - accused me saying that I did, on active duty from April 2006 to November 2007 steal U.S. currency in the form of Basic Allowance for Housing (BAH) and Cost of Living Allowance, military property, in the amount of $30,795.

Charge VI

Violation of the UCMJ, Article 112(a) -accused me saying that I did, at or near Liver-more, California, on or about August 6, 2008, wrongfully possess marijuana.

After reading all of my charges, it really hit me that I was in some deep shit. Typically, in cases where there is BAH fraud dealing with amounts of $10,000 or more, the Government usually offers a plea bargain. If I agreed to plead guilty, the punishments are 10 months in the brig, reduction of rate to E-1, and a Bad Conduct discharge. The Government was nice to me; they offered me 4 months in the brig, reduction in rate to E-1, and possibly a Bad Conduct Discharge (BCD) if I plead guilty. Receiving a BCD pretty much means that I would be discharged with nothing, and what’s worse is that it would hurt me even more once I returned back into civilian life. Bottom line was that I would have been in worse shape than when I entered four years prior. Pretty much all of the time I spent out to sea, separated from my family, along with all of the night watches from balls (0000 hrs. midnight) to 4am and sometimes 4am to 8am pacing around the flight deck with a heavy ass flak jacket and an M-16 in the Pacific Northwest’s infamous rain, sleet and snow was all for nothing. It meant that all of the subtle pains of being away from home and the other countless inconveniences of living aboard a Nimitz-Class Aircraft Carrier that added up over the course of five years would have been all for nothing. I had no choice but to fight it. I was innocent anyways, and I had everything to lose.

Chapter 2

DEAR IVETTE

When: August 9, 2008 - March 6, 2009 Where: Naval Brig Kitsap - Bangor, Washington

Isaw President Barack Obama inaugurated while I was a resident in Naval Brig Kitsap. I also met a lot of inter esting people in the brig…from all branches… Army, Navy, Marines, even a couple of guys from the Air Force. I was in the brig for seven months, and a lot of people came in and out while I was there. I couldn’t anyone in there if I was asked to nowadays, besides Army Spc. Ivette Davila and Petty Officer Mills. Petty Officer Mills was a female guard from Sacramento, California. She was one of a few female guards who were stationed at the brig. I caught her eye early. Everyone who came thru the brig used to flirt with her because she had a phat ass, especially for a white girl, but she wasn’t givin’ anyone the time of day besides me the whole seven months I was there. I guess she already had her eyes on the prize. She played a hard ass with me some-times but I knew better. We flirted with each other the whole time I was there. I knew she liked me, but I wasn’t going to jeopardize what little defense I was trying to put together for a piece of ass. I was facing six charges…I didn’t need a seventh. I just played the game and sure enough, Petty Officer Mills gave me her email address before I was released. We hooked up the next day. Spc. Davila was an Army chemical specialist from Bakersfield, California. She arrived at the brig a few months before I did. I didn’t see any press releases or news articles in the brig, and we didn’t have access to our email s either. Word in the brig was that she was charged with murder. I didn’t know the details of what had happened, but during my time in the brig we became good prison pals. Davila was charged with killing Staff Sgt. Timothy Miller and Sgt. Randi Miller, both Army Medics and Iraq war veterans, in their home March 2, 2008. She tried to get away with it by soaking their bodies in muriatic acid and kidnapping their seven-month-old daughter. Davila tried to act like she was crazy but I knew she wasn’t. She did a good job of trying to convince anyone who may have been observing her while she was in the brig. Davila and I had some pretty interesting conversations playing against

each other in chess and sometimes Candy Land. They had all sorts of board games in the brig. They helped the time go by. You can really find out a lot about a person playing a competitive game of Monopoly. I sat next to, directly in front of, and diagonal from Ivette Davila at a four-seat table, for breakfast, lunch and dinner for four months awaiting my trial. Davila had these jacked-up, nerdy-lookin’ glasses that she would wear every day. I guess it was a part of her front that she was puttin’ up in jail, but I knew better. Davila was beautiful and she used to flirt with me all the time as well. She would use her charm on all of the male guards to a degree to get what she wanted…but extra with me, so I had to be careful. For example, while working out in the back of the brig on the treill one evening before they separate us for ‘Taps’, Davila walked in front of the treill I was running on and pulled down the front of her light grey Armyissued jogging pants where I could see her panties, displaying her nice little camel-toe and a tattoo of her initials on her front left hip. She had been in jail since March of 2008; I bet her pussy was tighter than a new pair of handcuffs. Word in the brig was that she was probably gonna’ get the death penalty. If I woulda’ hit that, I’m sure I woulda’ got into even more trouble than I was already in. They had cameras for that type of thing too. My honorable discharge was at stake. She was sexy as hell, and I probably coulda’ got away with a quickie in the back of the dorm room by the weight equipment depending on which guard was on watch, but it wasn’t worth it. …I couldn’t resist the urge to ask Davila if she actually did what she was accused of over a game of Chess one morning. Without flinching, she looked me dead in the eyes and said “No”. Like I said before…you can learn a lot about a person playing Monopoly. I knew she was lying. Actually, I wouldn’t know what to do if she answered ‘yes’. It wouldn’t have made any sense for her to it to me if she did commit those murders anyways. For all she knew, I could have been an undercover agent trying to gain her trust in order to obtain information to use against her as a witness in her own trial.

Turns out, Davila eventually pled guilty to two counts of premeditated murder and one count each of kidnapping and obstruction of justice at her court-martial. On August 25, 2010, Davila was sent to prison for life without the possibility of parole. I believe my time in the brig and all of the stress that came along with it triggered a mild form of PTSD. The Navy didn’t offer me any sailor-to-civilian transition classes or counseling, they just signed my DD-214 and sent me on my way.

Ivette Davila being escorted into trial

Besides the different inmates who would come and go, the brig wasn’t so bad. I was the laundry guy and I also did the dishes after chow, which helped burn a lot of time as well. We would line up to present Colors, raising the flag every morning by 8 am. I spent that winter lining up in the snow waiting to raise the flag for Colors. I couldn’t complain about the catfish and some of the Petty Officers working Temporary Assigned Duty as Security were actually pretty cool. Special NCIS Agent Michael DeFamio’s investigation took over eight months, not including the 6 months I was AWOL. DeFamio subpoenaed my bank records for the last three years and didn’t find anything that helped his investigation. I don’t recommend missing ships movement to anyone. Going AWOL really didn’t help me at all and was a bad decision. To the courts it made it appear as if I was running away from the charges, but it was just the opposite. My ex-wife didn’t understand the severity of my charges so I had to go to California and figure out what was going on first-hand. Looking back, it was all worth it to me, if I didn’t skip out, I would have missed my homeboy Randy’s wedding. I was the best man. My lawyer, LT David Fowler, proved the fact that my enlistment had expired and proved that I didn’t have any intent of committing fraud. They threw the marijuana charge out. They figured that all of the resources DeFamio produced, as far as witnesses and documents, were useless and a waste of the Government’s time. Another example of how the taxpayer’s dollars are wasted. I was found not guilty on all charges…except goin’ AWOL...SMH. They gave me eight months in the brig, a reduction in rate from E-4 to E-1 with time served. It didn’t matter to me, I was getting out anyways, E-5 was just a paygrade. As far as I am concerned, they can never take away my experience and what I achieved as a Second Class Petty Officer.

Since I was in the Brig for four months already, I would only have to do four more months. I only served two more months of my remaining sentence and was released for good behavior. Since my enlistment had already expired, I was honorably discharged. Needless to say, after hooking up with Petty Officer Mills, I was on the first thing smokin’ back to Oakland. I didn’t want them to change their mind. I caught Amtrak from Tacoma, Washington to the Jack London Station in Oakland. My mom and sister picked me up; it was good to see them. On the way back I got a chance to kick back, relax, and reflect on the series of events that just took place. I was relieved, happy, and paranoid all at the same time. I was finally done with the Navy and goin’ back home in good standing, but I had no idea what else was in store for me.

Chapter 3

WELCOME HOME

When: March 8, 2009 Where: East Oakland, California

Iwas in the brig when Oscar Grant was murdered by Johannes Mehserle on New Year’s Day 2009. I hadn’t even heard of what happened till I got back home to Oakland. I had been away from Oakland for 5 years and really didn’t know the temperament between the police and the citizens of Oakland. I hadn’t been paying attention. When I got home I didn’t even know what the ‘Hyphy Movement’ was. Hell, I was busy traveling the world. Oakland is so small compared to the rest of the world. The Navy provided me with an opportunity to travel to a lot of interesting places I would have never visited if I were a civilian like Kowloon, Hong Kong; Sasebo, Japan; Pattaya Beach and Bangkok, Thailand; Singapore; Tijuana, Mexico; Hawaii and other places. The only thing I regret is when the Lincoln docked in Sasebo and I didn’t take the train ride to Nagasaki to visit the epicenter of the Atom bomb dropped to end World War II. While face down on the B.A.R.T. (Bay Area Rapid Transit) train platform, and with Officer Pirone’s knee on his neck and Mehserle on his back, unarmed Oscar Grant was shot in the back. The officer who fired the shot, Johannes Mehserle, said he made a mistake and was reaching for his Taser instead of his gun. Video evidence clearly shows neither weapon would have been necessary.

After Oscar Grant was shot in the back face down, instead of Mehserle realizing his mistake and offering Oscar Grant medical attention, he placed him into handcuffs. Sadly, like the Rodney King incident, if it wasn’t caught on video, this tragedy may have never been noticed. They eventually made a movie about the whole ordeal called ‘Fruitvale Station’. I was released from the brig after seven months on March 6, 2009…now , I stayed in Washington for one day and then caught an Amtrak train back to Oak-land. On March 21, 2009, a couple of weeks after I get back home, Lovelle Mixon, after a routine traffic stop, shoots two motorcycle cops around the corner from my parents houses on 78th and kills them in the middle of the street by 73rd adjacent from Eastmont Mall. Mixon then flees around the corner to his sister’s house on 74th. While the SWAT team was entering the house Mixon was suspected of hiding in, he kills two more of the Oakland Police SWAT team with an assault rifle. The police had the whole neighborhood locked down that day. The killings made it one of the worst days for law enforcement in California history. It was the single deadliest attack on California police officers since the Newhall massacre in 1970, when four California Highway Patrol officers were shot and killed by two men in Santa Clarita, California. Negative emotions between the police and the community were flaring up in the neighborhood. There were still demonstrations going on for Oscar Grant at the time as well. There were a certain group of of the community who felt like the murders of the four police officers was Karma for the 2009 New Year’s shooting of Oscar Grant and other questionable deaths of black men killed by police in the Bay Area. …I figured things would be smooth sailing for me in the Bay Area once I returned home. We now had a Black President and I figured the police and my community would welcome home a veteran who had put in five honorable years of military service. Boy was I wrong…

Chapter 4

JOHN GEORGE

When: April 9-13, 2010 Where: John George Psychiatric Pavilion - San Leandro, California

Since September of 09’, I had been goin’ to Wyotech Automotive Training School located in Fremont, California. I was finally doin’ good. I was getting straight A’s in all of my classes and I had just replaced the clutch in my Mustang in my backyard. My plan was to learn more than I already did about cars, repair and restoration. Since I got out of the Navy in good standing with an Honorable Discharge, I was gonna’ try n’ focus on something positive and learn a craft that I was interested in. I was making good grades till I started having flashbacks about the extremely stressful time I experienced at the tail end of my naval career. I would show extreme flashes of rage and anger, and at the time, I had no clue why. Now that I think back, it was quite simple. I had a good experience in the Navy and a great four-year career. I believe it all started the moment I first walked into Special Agent DeFamio’s office back in September 2007. One day while the ship was doing sea trials off the coast of San Diego, the Master Chief of the Security Department called me into his office right after I got off of watch and told me that Special Agent Defamio wanted to see me in his office. I went to the ship’s armory, checked in my 9mm Beretta and rounds and headed up to see Defamio.

I had no clue what this meeting was all about. I walked into Defamio’s office where he first introduced himself, then immediately had me sign a statement informing me of my rights. He began asking me a barrage of questions insinuating that I had some knowledge of stealing money by falsely claiming my family had been living in an area to draw more money over the course of a year. Apparently many soldiers and sailors try this scam, and are tried and convicted for BAH fraud. Being black, I guess he assumed I was no different, but he was wrong. Shortly after that meeting is when all of the trouble began. I was put on ship’s restriction after going to see the Captain for mast behind some trumped up drinking charge while on duty. As soon as the ship docked back in Everett, Washington in February of 08’, I made sure that my enlistment expired, and then I left the ship. Michael DeFamio’s investigation went over the time in which I was extended involuntarily which ended January 28, 2008. Technically, I shouldn’t have been charged with going AWOL…but they had to make something stick. The ship’s Legal Department made a mistake and allowed the investigation to continue past January 28th without having me to sign another extension, but somehow I was still charged with being AWOL when I left. The Legal Department didn’t properly notify the Personnel Department of the extension and all of my benefits and pay stopped. To the system in the Personnel Department, without being extended, it seemed as if my enlistment expired and it automatically dropped me from the system because I didn’t reenlist. So if I would have stayed until Defamio finished his investigation, I would have been working for the military for free. Yes, they could have reimbursed me months and months later, but I felt that this was the perfect time to head back to California and see what the hell was going on under a technicality on the Legal Departments part. It was a risk I had to take. I also had to deal with trying to my family while being AWOL. While trying to do just that, my wife at the time snitched on me while I was at work on my part-time job at Home Depot. Then after spending a week in Santa Rita County Jail, I was transported with

shackles and chains through the Oakland Airport to Seattle. Then I was slapped with six charges and spent the next seven months hangin’ out in the brig with Ivette Davila and a bunch of other characters. Then after all of that, I was found not guilty of all the shit. Damn, all these events happened back to back to back… By the time I got settled in the Bay Area again, my head hadn’t yet stopped spinnin’. I really hadn’t had time to reflect on everything that just happened to me, more importantly, what could have happened to me. If it wasn’t for my Mother’s prayers to God through His Son Jesus I would really be in bad shape.

Agreement to extend my enlistment which ended before I allegedly went AWOL

I kept all of my emotions bottled up, and it exploded on me one particular night in April. I signed up for Face-book and one of the Petty Officers who used to give me a hard time while I was on Ship’s restriction was on there. The Division put him in charge of supervising me in these menial tasks like swabbing the deck and cleaning the head. This motherfucker got a kick out of standing behind me giving me orders all day. Before everything that happened I outranked his ass, so I guess he got a kick out of telling me what to do now. It infuriated me that I was now out of the Navy and I couldn’t get a hold of him to beat his ass, so instead, I lashed out at my family because they were the only ones around. I got into a loud verbal disagreement with my sister in the middle of the street on 78th and Bancroft and my dad called the police onto the scene. I was in such a rage that the Oakland Police Department came out and put me in restraints, threw me in the back of an American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance and hauled me off. The Emergency Medical Technician (E.M.T.) stuck me twice in my left upper arm with a needle and the next thing I know I’m waking up in Highland Hospital. Although I received an Honorable Discharge, the stress of being AWOL for six months, my time in the brig, the 30 days restriction during the Thanksgiving Holidays and the embarrassing time spent on the ship during my fraud investigation, the Tsunami in Indonesia in 2005 and my pending divorce had all taken its toll. So I wake up in Highland Hospital and this stupid, rude ass nurse is teasing me about being crazy. I wanted to snatch her ass up, but I was still in restraints. I told the nurses that ‘I gotta piss’, thinking they would let me out of the restraints, and once free, I would show her who was crazy.

Instead of letting me out of the restraints, one nurse slowly starts unbuttoning my Levi 501s. She pulls out my penis, holds it to the left, and tells me to piss in the container she was holding. I’m not complaining here…I’m just telling you what happened. So, around 10 o’clock, I was put into restraints. They didn’t let me out of the restraints until I arrived at John George Psychiatric Pavilion the next morning around 7am. I never even heard of John George until that very morning. The desk clerk said I’d be able to use the phone at 8 o’clock. The first thing I did was call my Momma. She asked where I was. I asked the check-in clerk where I was. She told me John George. I relayed my location to my mother and told her I was at John George on 150th in San Leandro. Once she heard, all she could say was…Whoaaa!!! I guess she had heard of it before. So, while I’m waiting to be checked in, this cute but rough looking girl is escorted into the lobby and is sat down by the staff on one of the couches. Keep in mind I still had no clue as to where I was or what kind of place this was. All of a sudden the girl that was just escorted in starts asking everybody for a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I told her I didn’t have no damn sandwich. I wasn’t in the mood for her shit too. The guards and medical staff rushed in and told her to sit down and that she couldn’t have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She settles down for a while and then starts yelling RAPE!!! at the top of her lungs, but there wasn’t anyone around her. I stayed my ass in the chair by the door. She wasn’t about to pin nothin’ on me. If I had some peanut butter and jelly and some bread I would have made her a sandwich. It seems as if all the trouble the staff went through to calm her down could have been avoided with a simple sandwich. Oh well… So after I learned they were going to keep me for the weekend, and possibly longer, I got pissed-off all over again and got into a wrestling match with the staff. Eventually I was put back into restraints for four more hours. It took the whole security and medical staff to get me down. From the outside lookin’ in, and how I was actin’, they probably thought I deserved to be there.

I had my own room, but it was under 24-hour observation. There was a camera in the corner on the ceiling. I hate to it it, but I met some cool people in John George. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t invite any of them over for dinner, but there were some characters in John George that helped the time go by. For instance, there was this old Asian lady in there who liked to get up early in the morning for exercise and stretching. She couldn’t speak a lick of English, but we understood each other, hell, I have a bachelor’s degree in communication from Baylor. I got a kick out of watching the droolers who couldn’t express themselves throw temper tantrums to get there way. The only way they could communicate was through body language because they could not express themselves with words. I understood what they were trying to say, I felt like Cesar Millan in the ‘Dog Whisperer’. I had to keep washing my hands whenever I touched something like a magazine, door handle, or a remote. Ain’t no tellin’ who was in there before me and who touched what. The food was brought in on a cart. They had juice and coffee and called us by our name to come up and get our trays. I couldn’t complain about the food in John George either. Perhaps they could have provided more rations, but during some meals there were extra trays and snacks to eat from the patients who didn’t want to eat. There was always one or two. John George had the best drugs. They kept me doped up the whole time after the wrestling match with the staff. I didn’t even know what I was on. I just did everything they said so I could get the hell outta’ there. There were cameras everywhere. They had board games, T.V., and movies. I watched Beetlejuice on VHS the whole weekend. I played Chess a few times with some other patients. I refused to lose to anyone in there. They said I could keep on my regular clothes but I opted for the medical jumpsuit because I didn’t want to funk them up. It was Saturday morning when I arrived so the doctors were off; therefore I had to spend the whole weekend in John George. Before John George releases you,

an assigned doctor has to diagnose you. I was diagnosed Monday and released Tuesday morning, April 12, 2010. I was ready to go home and finish the semester at Wyotech. I was getting a pretty nice monthly stipend provided by my G.I. Bill to attend Wyotech. It was important that I got back and turn in any homework that I missed and take the final exam. I did just that. On Friday April 30, 2010 I took my last final for my last class at Wyotech, ing the course. After the final exam, I rented a Dodge Charger, and drove to Las Vegas alone to meet up with my cousins Paris, Paul and Kevin who were flying in.

Evaluation certificate from John George

Chapter 5

HIGH SPEED

When: May 18, 2010 Where: Wyotech Automotive - Fremont, California

After returning from a nice road trip to Las Vegas, I return to school to get my final grades and my scholarship check that is refunded to students at the end of the semester. Wyotech is supposed to cut the check 14 days after finals. I took the final and ed the last class of the semester. As a veteran, we get a 15% discount off of our tuition. I waited a whole semester to get my $2000 refund. Well, I finish out the semester with straight A’s and I go back to pick up my scholarship check on May 18, 2010…For some reason, me and the President couldn’t see eye to eye. This is Joe Pappaly’s version of events.

Joe Pappaly’s Temporary Restraining Order Statement:

I am the College President of Wyotech Fremont Campus in Fremont, California, which is wholly owned by Corinthian Colleges, Inc. The facts set forth herein are of my own personal knowledge and if sworn I could and would testify competently thereto. Lawrence Sterling III (hereafter “Sterling”) was enrolled as a student of Wyotech Fremont Campus in its automotive technician program from September 14,

2009, until April 30, 2010, when he was dropped from the enrollment due to excessive absences from class. Sterling is a military veteran who had been funding his tuition at Wyotech through payment by the Veterans istration of his Veteran’s educational benefits. When Sterling prepared to begin the automotive technician program at Wyotech in September 2009, my staff at Wyotech prepared all of the paperwork required by the Veterans istration to enable payment of his tuition at Wyotech by the Veterans istration. At that time, Sterling made an initial payment to Wyotech of approximately $2,285.00 dollars, which was refunded to him once the Veterans istration commenced paying his tuition. When my staff notified Sterling that he had been dropped from enrollment due to his excessive absences from class, he informed my Wyotech staff that he instead wanted to take the motorcycle technician program, rather than the automotive program. My staff informed him that such a change of status was possible, but that government rules would require that the unused funds already provided by the Veterans istration to pay his tuition for the automotive technician program would have to be returned to the Veterans istration, and that with the college’s assistance, he would need to reapply to the Veterans istration to obtain new funding to pay his tuition for the motorcycle technician program. Sterling informed the Wyotech staff that if there were unused funds in his tuition for the automotive technician program, then those funds should be given to him, rather than refunded to the Veterans istration. The Wyotech staff informed him that they could not give him those funds which government regulations required they be returned to the Veterans istration once he had stopped attending the automotive technician program. Wyotech staff further informed him that the entire $2,285.00 in funds that Sterling had paid into his tuition had already been refunded to him. Wyotech staff informed him that the refund to the Veterans istration of the balance of the unused tuition funds was already in process, at which point

Sterling became irate that Wyotech had not given those unused funds directly to him. On May 18, 2010, Sterling went to the Wyotech offices located at 420 Whitney Place, Fremont, California, and spoke with numerous staff including the persons in the Financial Aid Department, the Director of Education, and the Student s Manager, who all explained to him that he was not eligible to be given the unused credit balance of the tuition funds paid by the Veterans istration for instruction in the Automotive technician program, and that those funds had to be returned to the Veterans istration. He refused to accept this explanation and insisted on being paid those unused funds. As I was sitting in my own office in building 420 of the Wyotech offices, I could hear Sterling’s raised voice emanating from the office of the Reentry Manager where he was then speaking to Dhaisha Hernandez. I called Dhaisha Hernandez on the telephone and told her that she needed to close the door to her office to talk to him herself, or she needed to send Sterling to my office to see me, in my capacity as College President, so that I could talk to him. Ms. Hernandez brought Sterling to my office, at which point he explained the outcome he was seeking and I explained to him the precise regulations that obligated Wyotech to repay the unused tuition funds to the Veterans istration and precluded Wyotech from paying the unused funds to him. I also gave him a copy of the pertinent regulations. Sterling then accused Wyotech of trying to “rip him off” and of not actually sending the money back to the Veterans istration. I reiterated to him what the regulations were and that the college was acting in full compliance with the pertinent regulations, but that he was refusing to accept the reality of the situation, and that I didn’t know what else to tell him. As Sterling was speaking to me in my office, I could smell the strong odor of alcohol on his breath. I offered to have my Director of Finance, Kathy Clough, come to my office to again explain everything to him. As she began to speak to him in my office, he became irate and started using extremely inappropriate language (including the “F-word”), at which point I reminded him that there was a lady present in the

room and he needed to stop using such inappropriate language and calm down. I told him if he was unwilling to do so, then I would have no choice but to end the meeting until such time as he was ready to talk in an appropriate manner, at which point he could return to my office and I would speak with him again. He then became even more irate, uttered a barrage of similar inappropriate epithets, accused the college of “stealing his money” and threatened that he “was not going to leave here without my money.” Consequently, I got up from my desk, opened my office door and said, “Mr. Sterling you need to leave my office because I am not going to continue this conversation. Sterling then left my office and walked back into Dhaisha Hernandez’ office and resumed shouting at her. I heard him do so, walked to her office and said that I needed to speak with him briefly, at which point he came out into the hallway where I informed him that he needed to “leave the building, go home, and come back after he had calmed down and was ready to talk in an appropriate manner.” However, Sterling continued to refuse to leave the building, accused me of being a “thief” and stated that he was not going to leave the building “without my money.” Because he was screaming at the top of his lungs, I directed my staff to call campus security to come to the area. As my security officer was coming to the scene, Sterling said to me “so what are you gonna’ do? Are you going to have security throw me out of here?” I reiterated that he needed to leave the building right now because he was making too much noise and was disrupting the peace there. He again refused to leave the building and instead began walking up and down the hallway banging on the walls and kept demanding to see Student Manager, Priscilla Pagtakhan, whose responsibilities included giving and receiving student funds. At that time she was in her office with the door closed because she didn’t want to come out. Sterling was shouting and demanding to know, “where is fucking Priscilla.” I followed him down the hall because I did not want him to hurt anyone, and told him again that he needed to leave the building immediately. He then told me “Fuck this and Fuck you!” He took off his jacket as he said to me, “What do you wanna’ do? Do you want to fight with me? Do you want me to take you out?” Then he used his body to push me into the wall.

He put his face about an inch away from my nose and was screaming at me in a way that his saliva was spraying all over my face. Each time I turned my face away from him, he would move his body position around so that his face was nearly touching my face. With his body, he had me positioned against the wall in such a way that I could not move away from him without pressing forward into him. Fearing that he would hit me if I made any such movement to get away from him, I remained still while he continued to hurl epithets at me and screamed that he was not leaving. Next, I told him that the Fremont Police had been called and were on their way to the scene, and that I strongly suggested that he leave the building. He continued to refuse to leave, but I was eventually able to return to my office. My director of Education, Mike Lee, came into the building and escorted Sterling out the back door of the building. However, Sterling returned inside the building through a different door, walked back to my office where I was behind my closed door, and began banging on my glass door and yelling at me, “I’m going to get you” and “I’ll see you tomorrow!” Mike Lee escorted him out of the building the second time, but Sterling returned again at which point a campus security guard, Jose Niri, positioned himself in front of me to protect me from Sterling. Sterling then shouted at the security guard, “What are you going to do? Are you going to take me down? I don’t think so!” The security guard attempted to diffuse the situation by informing Sterling that the guard “had no beef” with Sterling and was just there because he had been called to the scene. The security guard told him, “All we are asking you to do is leave the building.” Mr. Lee escorted Sterling out of the building a third time, at which point Sterling got into a silver Mustang 5.0, performed two “donut turns” in the parking lot at high speed and sped off. While these latter events were occurring, my staff already had the Fremont Police on the telephone and relayed to the police handling the call the things that

Sterling was doing, as well as his vehicle license plate number. A few minutes later, the Fremont Police arrived at my office, including Officer Lori Okulove (Badge No. 2405), she told me that she had seen someone she believed to be Sterling in a silver Mustang, bearing the pertinent license plate number, stopped at a traffic light nearby. She told me that when the police turned on their emergency lights and attempted to follow the vehicle, the suspect sped away, weaving through traffic. She told me the police engaged in a short pursuit but, in the interests of general public safety, broke off the pursuit once the suspect entered the freeway. Immediately thereafter, the police drove back to the Wyotech campus and came to my office and took a statement from me of what had occurred before their arrival on the scene. They informed me that their report would be assigned Police Report No. 100518023. While with me, the police told me that Sterling was currently on probation arising for Driving Under the Influence. At this point, while the police were still in my office, I received a telephone call from Sterling. I put him on the speaker phone and asked him what I could do for him, at which point he shouted further expletives at me including, “ F#@* you” and “I’m going to get you!” and “I will see you tomorrow at 10.” I then told him there was someone here who needed to speak with him, and turned the conversation over to Officer Lori Okulove, who asked him if he was Mr. Sterling, to which he replied, “Yes, and who the hell are you?” Officer Okulove identified herself by name and badge number, at which point he asked her, are you the one who was just chasing me?” She told him “yes” she was, to which he responded, “Well, you’re gonna’ have to get a ‘5.0’ if you are going to catch me.” Both I and she told him that he was not to come back to campus the following day. He disagreed, and said that he was going to return to the campus the following day, stated further expletives, and hung up the phone. Later Sterling sent an email message to Dhaisha Hernandez, stating that she should tell that F#@*ing Joe that I’m going to be there tomorrow at 10. Dhaisha Hernandez brought the email to me and I showed it to the police

officers, who told me that they would be on campus at 10:00a.m. The following day, just in case Sterling followed through on his threat to return. Sterling called me back while the officers were still in my office. As instructed by Officer Okulove, I answered the phone and told Sterling both not to call me again and not to return to campus tomorrow morning. Sterling responded F#@* this stuff and hung up. The next day, May 19, 2010, the Fremont Police were already patrolling the parking lot of the campus when I arrived for work. I am informed and believe that at 8:30a.m. Sterling had already gone to a different building on the campus accompanied by his father, and was asking to see his issions Representative, Renee Andre. I am informed and believe that Mr. Andre told them that they should leave the campus immediately, and that they should not go to the building where my office is located because the police were already there and would arrest him if he went there. Nevertheless, the father and son drove to the parking lot outside the building where my office is located. The father got out of the car and came to my office, while Sterling remained in the car. While I was talking to the father, Lawrence Sterling Jr., I am informed and believe that the police learned of Sterling’s presence sitting in the car in the parking lot, at which point the police ordered Sterling out of the car, handcuffed him, and placed him in their police vehicle. After consultations with the police, and at the direction of my superiors, I informed the police on behalf of myself and Wyotech that the college intended to press appropriate charges against Sterling. The police removed Sterling from the police vehicle, at which point I was able to positively identify Sterling as the person who had perpetrated each of the acts that I have attributed to him above. As a result of Sterling’s behavior and repeated threats against me, I am concerned for my safety and for the safety of the other employees at Wyotech. I am concerned that without proper intervention, including the issuance of a comprehensive restraining order, that Sterling will commit a violent act toward

me and others, especially Wyotech employees, who happen to be with me whenever he approaches me. I have personal knowledge of the facts stated herein, except those facts that I have stated on information and belief, which I believe to be true, and I declare under penalty of perjury pursuant to the laws of the State of California all the facts stated by me herein are true and correct. Dated: 5/21/2010 Joe Pappaly, President Wyotech Fremont Campus

…about Wyotech Well first off, Joe Pappaly is full of shit! I hadn’t been drinking, it was around noon and I had just left the damn golf course. I employed the services of respected longtime Oakland attorney, Louis Duvernay. I was charged for evading the police but those charges were eventually dismissed. There were a lot of people at Wyotech, young and old, who were looking for a career in the automotive field. New graduates had dreams of becoming automotive technicians for BMW and Audi one day, but in reality, the only thing that awaited them was an entry level job at ‘Quicky Lube’ with an overabundance of new applicants from Wyotech that stretched around the corner. On top of that, the instructors and staff were rude and very unprofessional. I could deal with the rude instructors, but I couldn’t deal with the istration short-changing me. My only issue with Wyotech came when it came time to issue me my scholarship money and would not give it to me, but instead took $3945 that was due to me and said they sent it to Veterans Affairs. Not only was the refund money that was due to me supposedly sent to the VA, but the funds that the Veterans istration overpaid Wyotech were nowhere to be found. Priscilla Pagtakhan claimed that she sent it to the VA, but when I called the VA

to inquire about it, they had no idea of what the hell I was talking about. The day of the incident between Wyotech staff and myself, I was simply trying to show Daisha Hernandez and Joe Pappaly the ‘Clarification of Tuition and Fee Return Policy’ handed to me by Priscilla Pagtakhan herself. Her handwriting is at the top of the document. Joe Pappaly was so damn smug that he wouldn’t even look at the documents I had with me which pissed me off. On top of that, in his statement he gave to the police, he claimed that I was kicked out for excessive absences, which was a fucking lie. I was a straight ‘A’ student at the time. I kept all of my report cards and can prove it. When it was time to get my refund money, Priscilla Pagtakhan sent it back to the VA and said I wasn’t eligible for it but, and I knew that I was. I guess eatin’ eggs, playin’ Chess and Monopoly with Davila every morning for seven months, mixed in with a little John George is a good recipe to make you blow your top. Again, I blame it all on special agent Michael DeFamio. He was the NCIS Naval Criminal Investigator responsible for putting together a bogus case with bogus charges and tried to ruin my life….but that’s all behind me. For the matter in the incident with Joe Pappaly I had to go to court again to determine whether or not I could continue to attend Wyotech. Joe Pappaly served me with a restraining order and used his statement to justify his claim. Because he was the Wyotech campus President, they put more weight to his testimony than mine. I was just a black guy from East Oakland. The Honorable Judge Taylor Culver presided over this matter of the restraining order Wyotech submitted on behalf of Joe Pappaly. I was shocked to find that Judge Culver, a black man himself, couldn’t or simply, refused to smell through the bullshit they were feeding him. From the opening, Judge Culver slammed me and wouldn’t even let me speak. I also brought with me to court that day, all of my straight ‘A’ report cards, the “Clarification of Tuition and Fee Return’ school policy, and my Veterans Scholarship document that would my testimony.

These documents would dispute Joe Pappaly’s statement that says I was dropped from school due to excessive absences, which is absurd. Just like Joe Pappaly, Judge Culver wouldn’t even look at them.

15% refund Wyotech promises to Veterans

Clear instructions on how an Institution of higher learning is supposed to refund money to Veteran Affairs

Judge Culver even became somewhat hostile and one-sided in court and tried to make a spectacle of me for no reason other than to show out for representatives of the plaintiff. Judge Culver obviously read Joe Pappaly’s statement before hearing the case. I felt as a judge, Culver should know that there are two sides to every story and he definitely didn’t hear mine that day. Judge Culver said that he felt Wyotech didn’t owe me any money. I also brought the documents that would have ed this as well, but Judge Culver wouldn’t even take a glance at them. He made up his mind without looking at a single document. I feel sorry for anyone else who had to succumb to Judge Culver’s Uncle Tom-like handling of their case. Hopefully it was just me. With all that being said, Judge Culver ordered me to stay at least 100 yards away from Joe Pappaly and all buildings and grounds comprising the Wyotech Institute in Fremont, California for one year. Wyotech still owes me $3,945 to this day.

Chapter 6

CRACKER JACKED

Hayward, California June 5, 2010 12:45 am

Ok, so just two weeks after I was arrested on Wyotech Campus in Fremont on the 19th of May, I got cracker jacked by the Hayward Police Department. The police report is comprised of three different statements from the main officers who were involved, Officer Hendricks, Officer Loring Cox, and Officer Johnson.

THE POLICE REPORT:

SUSPECT DESCRIPTION: Lawrence Sterling, 32 years old, black male adult, 6’0”, 195 lbs.

NARRATIVE #1: OFFICER JOHNSON (The plain clothes cop) On 6/5/10 at approximately 0135 hours I was partnered with Officer Hendricks. We were in a marked Hayward Police Vehicle with overhead lights, siren, and Hayward Police logos. I was in civilian clothes due to Officer Hendricks being in the final phase of the Field Training Program. Officer Hendricks was in the final phase of the Field Training Program. During the final phase of the Field Training program it is policy that the Field Training

Officer be in civilian clothing and allow the officer in the Field Training Program to demonstrate their ability to perform the duties of a solo patrol officer in the City of Hayward. It also detracts from citizens asking questions to the training officer, and allowing the officer being trained to demonstrate the ability to do their job. Officer Hendricks was driving and was behind a silver Ford Mustang 5.0 traveling westbound on W Tennyson Rd. The vehicle was in the left turn lane of W. Tennyson Rd to turn onto eastbound Oliver Dr. The rear turn signal, to indicate a left turn, on the Mustang was not on. Officer Hendricks followed the vehicle as it traveled eastbound on Oliver Dr. Officer Hendricks decided to make a traffic enforcement stop on the vehicle. As he was broadcasting his stop to HPD Dispatch the vehicle turned into the parking lot at 2601 Oliver Dr. This parking lot is a parking lot for a strip mall that has several small businesses. At the time none of the businesses were open. Officer Hendricks turned on his overhead lights and siren to initiate a traffic enforcement stop. The vehicle stopped immediately and Officer Hendricks got out of his patrol car as he was updating HPD Dispatch of his location. I got out of the patrol vehicle and stood along the enger side near the front of the patrol vehicle. Officer Hendricks was giving verbal commands to the driver, later determined to be (S) Sterling, to turn off his vehicle. Sterling had both of his hands out of the driver side window. I heard Sterling yelling towards Officer Hendricks as Officer Hendricks was giving him verbal commands. Sterling started to get out of the vehicle and I heard Officer Hendricks say at least two times for Sterling to stay in the vehicle. I stood near the front of the patrol vehicle during this time. I saw Sterling get out of the vehicle, even after Officer Hendricks had told him to stay in the vehicle. Sterling was extremely agitated when he got out of the vehicle. Sterling was yelling at Officer Hendricks and kept asking “why am I being stopped”. Sterling continued to yell towards Officer Hendricks and did not listen to any of the verbal commands Officer Hendricks was giving him. Sterling quickly

grabbed the black hat he had on his head with his right hand and threw his hands up in the air, which to me looked like he was trying to challenge Officer Hendricks to come try to arrest him, as he was quickly took a couple of steps towards Officer Hendricks. As I saw Sterling walk towards Officer Hendricks I lifted my shirt to expose my Hayward Police Officer badge and department issued handgun, which I had on my belt. I did this in an attempt to let Sterling know that I was a police Officer. Sterling looked in my direction and immediately stopped and took a couple steps back away from Officer Hendricks. Based on Sterling’s actions, getting out of his vehicle, failing to listen to verbal commands, extreme agitation, and aggressive advance on Officer Hendricks, I believe had Officer Hendricks been alone Sterling would have attempted to challenge Officer Hendricks to a physical fight.

Officer Hendricks requested a cover unit during the stop. Shortly after Sterling got out of his vehicle and demonstrated he was not going to comply, Officer Hendricks requested them to “step it up”, which means a code 3 response. Officer Cox was the first unit to arrive on scene. I stood away from the scene, since I was in civilian clothes, as Officer Hendricks and Officer Cox gave Sterling commands, Sterling was still being noncompliant. Officer Cox deployed his K9, and Officer Hendricks and Officer Cox took Sterling to the ground. At this point several units arrived and took Sterling into custody. I did not assist in taking Sterling into custody, since I was in civilian clothes and could have easily been confused as being with Sterling by arriving officers. Lawrence Sterling was placed under arrest for 23152(a) CVC - driving under the influence and 148 PC - resisting an officer. Sterling was later released on a notice to appear #H625376. Sterling refused medical treatment from American Medical Response (AMR) and Hayward Fire Department (HFD) at the scene. I later transported Sterling to St. Rose Hospital. Sterling sustained a dog bite to his right lower leg, which caused a puncture wound and lacerations. Sterling was seen by MD Nguyen for is injuries.

SUMMARY: Sterling the driver of the vehicle was stopped for 22108 CVC. Upon making , he was argumentative and disobeyed my commands about staying in his vehicle. While the suspect was out of his vehicle he was yelling and still disobeying my lawful commands. A Hayward K-9 was deployed, but Sterling continued to resist our lawful commands. Officer Cox and I went to detain Sterling to place him into handcuffs. Sterling placed his right arm around Officer Cox’s neck, so I grabbed his right arm and pushed Sterling to the ground. I then placed Sterling into handcuffs. Sterling had a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person. The suspect elected to provide a breath test and his results were 0.09 and 0.08 BAC. He was later released on a citation once he became sober and was medically cleared.

NARRATIVE #2: OFFICER HENDRICKS (The cop who made the stop who was riding with Officer Johnson) On 06/05/10 I was working as a double unit with Officer Johnson. I was in full uniform driving a fully marked patrol vehicle. At approximately 0135 hours, I was driving west on W. Tennyson approaching Oliver Drive. At that time, my attention was drawn to a silver Ford Mustang 5.0 (License #6JEL021) that was traveling west on W. Tennyson, just in front of my patrol vehicle. I saw the vehicle get into the left turn pocket on W. Tennyson. The listed vehicle turned left onto eastbound Oliver Drive without using the vehicles turn signal, in violation of 22108 CVC. After the vehicle turned onto Oliver Drive, it sped up quickly out of the turn. At that time I activated my emergency lights and siren to stop the vehicle for the violation. The vehicle pulled into the parking lot of 2601 Oliver Drive. This parking lot is a parking lot for a small strip mall that has several businesses. At the time none of the businesses were open. As I exited my vehicle, the driver, later identified as (S) Sterling, looked out the

driver’s window towards me and yelled, “Fuck you! Why are you stopping me?” I stayed next to my patrol vehicle and asked Sterling to turn his vehicle off. Sterling yelled, “No! Fuck you! I’m not turning it off, it won’t start back up.” Again I told Sterling to turn off his vehicle, but he still did not turn it off. Sterling yelled, “Fuck this!” He then quickly exited his vehicle and stood next to his car. Sterling was very agitated when he exited his vehicle. I commanded Sterling to get back into his vehicle. Sterling looked at me and yelled, “Fuck you! What are you pulling me over for? This is bullshit!” I again commanded Sterling to get back into his vehicle. Sterling yelled at me, “Fuck this and fuck you! Why are you pulling me over?” During this time Sterling took a step towards me with his arms folded in front of him over his chest. I told Sterling that he needed to stay there and not move. Sterling took a step back and continued yelling, Fuck this! Why are you fucking with me? This is bullshit! Fuck you!” Sterling then quickly took off his hat and violently threw it to his right; he then started putting his hands in the air waving them with his fists closed. Sterling was about 15 yards from where I was standing. Based on Sterling not following my commands and the way he was acting, I requested cover units to assist me. Sterling then appeared to become even more agitated as he paces back and forth throwing his arms in the air. Based on his behavior, I believed there was a possibility that Sterling could become violent towards me, so I requested my cover to “step it up” which means code 3 response. At approximately 0138 hours Officer Cox arrived on the scene. My intention was to arrest Sterling for 148 PC. At that time both Officer Cox and I told Sterling to get on the ground. Sterling refused to follow our lawful command. Officer Cox released his K-9. See Officer Cox’s supplement report. The dog went up to Sterling and bit his lower right leg. Sterling remained standing and was attempting to shake the dog off his leg. Officer Cox and I ran towards Sterling to detain him. Officer Cox grabbed Sterling to pull him to the ground. While Officer Cox was grabbing Sterling, Sterling placed his right arm around Officer Cox’s neck as if he was going to choke Officer Cox. I grabbed Sterling’s right arm from around Officer Cox’s neck with my right

hand. I then grabbed onto the back of Sterling’s shirt with my left hand, and pushed him to the ground. Sterling fell forward and landed in a prone position partially on top of Officer Cox, and his momentum caused me to fall on top of him. Officer Cox got out from underneath Sterling and to maintain control of his dog. While on the ground I grabbed Sterling’s left arm and placed it behind his back. Sterling attempted to pull his left arm away from me. I told Sterling to stop resisting. I then commanded Sterling to take his right arm out from under his chest. Sterling moved his right arm out just a little bit. I then was able to grab his right arm and then placed Sterling into handcuffs. I checked for tightness and double locked them. While Sterling was lying on the ground he continued to yell, “Fuck you guys! This is bull shit!” I searched Sterling and sat him up. At that time several units arrived on scene, as well as AMR and HFD. When AMR and HFD personnel arrived Sterling began yelling, “Fuck you! I don’t need medical treatment. Fuck this I want to call my lawyer and dad.” Sterling refused medical treatment on scene from AMR and HFD. Sterling refused to answer any questions posed to him, including telling me what his name was. After Sterling refused medical treatment, I assisted him to his feet. I walked him to my patrol vehicle and placed him into the back seat. While Sterling was in back of my patrol vehicle I could smell a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his person. Officer Ferreyra performed an inventory search of Sterling’s vehicle prior to having the vehicle towed per 22651(h) CVC. During the inventory search, Officer Ferreyra found an open and empty can of Foster’s beer sitting in the front enger seat. A photo was taken and placed into evidence. I transported Sterling to St. Rose Hospital for medical treatment for his injuries. While at St. Rose Hospital, Sterling began yelling, “This is bullshit! I want my lawyer, I refuse medical. I want to call my dad and my lawyer. Fuck this! Just take me to jail. I don’t want to be here.” Based on the fact that Sterling was exhibiting objective symptoms of alcohol intoxication, (e.g. red watery eyes, smell of an alcoholic beverage on his breath and person, somewhat slurred speech) I asked Sterling if he had been drinking

any alcohol tonight. He said, “Nope, test me.” At that time I advised Sterling of the chemical test onition pursuant to 23612 CVC and he elected to provide a breath test. Because Sterling refused medical treatment at St. Rose Hospital, I transported him to HPD jail for booking. While at the jail, Sterling was still agitated about the reason for the stop. I explained the reason for the stop but Sterling refused to listen. I then asked Sterling if he wanted to provide a urine sample and he said, “Why? I don’t need to give you piss!” I asked Sterling medical questions, but he refused to answer my questions. I then read Sterling his Miranda rights, which he understood and wished to talk, but refused to sign the form. During the booking process, Sterling was advised that he could not have any water or food until they were done with the process. Sterling had to be observed for 15 minutes to insure he did not have any water or food, prior to taking the breath test. While Sterling was sitting on a stool for his booking photo to be taken, he leaned over and started to drink some water out of the sink that was to his right. I stopped Sterling from drinking anymore water. I advised Sterling that he was not allowed to have water at this time. CSO Alejo advised Sterling that he had to be observed for 15 minutes, and during that time he was not allowed to have water, food or burp before taking the breath test. Sterling said he understood the rules. Just prior to Sterling taking the breath test, he burped which started the observation time again. Later CSO Alejo istered the breath test to Sterling and the results were .09 BAC at 0320 hours. Based on my training, every hour that es a person’s BAC decreases on average by .02 Sterling BAC had decreased from the time of the stop at 0135 hours to the time of taking the breath test at 0320 hours. After Sterling provided the breath test, he started to calm down. Sterling advised Officer Cox that he wanted medical attention for his injury. I transported Sterling to St. Rose Hospital for medical treatment. While at the Hospital, Sterling told me, “I made a bad decision. I should have stayed in the car.” I asked Sterling why he did not follow my commands.

Sterling said, “I was just upset before you stopped me.” I asked Sterling what he was upset about and Sterling said, “just something that happened earlier.” When you pulled me over, it just pushed me over the edge. I should have just stayed in the car and listened.” Sterling was treated at St. Rose Hospital by MD Nguyen. Sterling was medically cleared and then released on a citation (H625376).

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE: Officer Cox took photos of the open Foster’s beer can in the vehicle and Sterling’s injuries. Cox placed the photo’s into evidence.

Evidence photo

Officer Cox also ed the PUMA recording of Sterling after he was taken into custody. It recorded what Sterling was saying to us, how he refused medical treatment, how he refused to answer my questions at the jail, and the conversation we had while he was being treated at St. Rose. The recorder was stopped when Sterling was released from the hospital. A copy of Sterling’s breath results were attached to the original report.

CRIME SCENE: The violation of 22108 CVC occurred at W. Tennyson Blvd. and Oliver Dr. Sterling drove his vehicle into the empty parking lot of 2601 Oliver Drive.

SUSPECT STATEMENTS: I advised Sterling of his Miranda rights. Sterling understood and he stated he wanted to talk, but he refused to sign the form I provided. At St. Rose Hospital, Sterling told me he made a bad decision and he should have stayed in the car. Sterling also said he was upset prior to me pulling him over and that is why he acted the way he did. See above narrative for further statement. Sterling’s statements were digitally recorded with the department issued PUMA recorder.

SUSPECT RECORD: Sterling is known in CII and CRIMS for 23152(a) CVC, 23152(b) CVC, 602 PC

and 2800.1 CVC Lawrence Sterling was treated for a single canine puncture, and rakes to his right lower leg at St. Rose ER later released on a signed citation.

NARRATIVE #3: OFFICER LORING COX (The cop who released the K9) On June 5, 2010, I was working as a police Officer for the City of Hayward. I was assigned as a police Service Dog Handler and performing the primary duties of burglary suppression and response to high risk incidents including those that involve weapons. I was wearing a full police Class C utility uniform with all required patches and insignia. I was driving fully marked Canine Patrol Car #385 with canine warnings. I was working with my assigned Police Service Dog (PSD) “Nikki”. At 0135 hrs. I heard Officer A. Hendricks make a traffic stop at 2601 Oliver. I had worked with Officer Hendricks for the past few weeks during his field training and knew him to be a calm and reserved officer. When I heard his radio traffic, I immediately noticed stress in his voice. I began to drive towards his location and soon heard him request a “code 8.” This is HPD code for an additional officer to come to his location. I then heard him make a radio broadcast that I could not clearly hear. I heard patrol SGT immediately tell radio to send him cover “code 3.” This indicated to me an emergency situation of high priority. I self-assigned myself to traffic stop via my MDT and responded. As I was responding, I heard Officer Hendricks radio that a person was advancing on him. I arrived at 0138 hrs. and saw an HPD patrol car facing north in the parking lot of a closed liquor store at 2601 Oliver. Directly in front of it and clearly illuminated in white light from spotlights was a white Ford Mustang 5.0. The car had dark tinted rear windows and I could not see if anyone else was in the car. To the west of the mustang was a male known to me as (S) Lawrence Sterling. I saw that (S) Lawrence Sterling was 6’00” tall and was of a large muscular build. At the time of the incident he weighed 220 lbs. By comparison, I am 5’8” and 170 lbs.

I saw Officer Hendricks to the west and south of (S) Lawrence Sterling. He appeared to be giving commands to (S) Lawrence Sterling. I pulled in behind Officer Hendricks’ patrol car and got out of my car. I then saw a second adult male to the east of the mustang facing towards us. Not knowing if this male was involved, I continued to try to keep my focus on both of them despite the distance between them. (S) Lawrence Sterling immediately began to yell at me. He began to point towards his waistband while yelling, “Bring it! I got something for you motherfucker!” I looked and could clearly see a black and silver metallic item protruding from the right side of his front waistband. I know this to be a common place to keep deadly weapons such as firearms and edged weapons for instant use. I deployed my Police Service Dog from my vehicle via the remote door activation on my belt. I called my Police Service Dog and I had him come to my left side. I oriented my Police Service Dog towards the suspect who was most active (Sterling) and gave him a guard command. I had my Police Service Dog actively bark towards the suspect and make his presence known to the suspect and anyone else in the car. I looked to the second person and recognized him as Officer R. Johnson. Officer Johnson was in plain street clothing and I recalled that he was conducting the final evaluation phase of Officer. Hendricks field training. I twice ordered (S) Lawrence Sterling to, “put your hands up and lay on the ground!” (S) Lawrence Sterling continued to actively resist those orders by waving his hands in front of him and then balling his fists again. I told him again to keep his hands up or I would send the dog to bite him. Suddenly (S) Lawrence Sterling took his right hand and reached into his waistband where I saw the object. FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS I DECIDED TO USE MY POLICE SERVICE DOG (PSD):

**SERIOUSNESS OF THE INCIDENT**

The suspect was an unsearched suspect, who was challenging police officers to an assault and appeared to be trying to bait us into close range with him.

**SUSPECT (S) POSED IMMEDIATE THREAT TO OFFICERS AND OF THE COMMUNITY**

I believed the suspect was arming himself with a weapon to use against me, Officer Johnson, or Officer Hendricks. The suspect was standing within close proximity of his car where he had immediate access to any weapons he may have stored in the vehicle. The interior of the car was an unfamiliar and unsearched area which posed threat to other officers who may have to approach. An approach to the suspect by anyone other than my PSD would expose them to the risk of attack and the likelihood of deadly force being used against the suspect.

**THE SUSPECT (s) ACTIVELY / RESISTED / EVADED ARREST / DETENTION BY FLIGHT AND CONCEALMENT**

The suspect was actively resisting by failing to follow commands from the police. The suspect was possibly arming himself and preparing for an attack. I believed the only way to quickly gain control of (S) Lawrence Sterling and prepare to react to (S) Lawrence Sterling’s actions was for my Police Service Dog to apprehend him. This would create time and distance allowing me to prepare to react to whatever threat (S) Lawrence Sterling would present. I gave my Police Service Dog an order to apprehend (S) Lawrence Sterling and began to withdraw my firearm from its holster. My Police Service Dog initially moved towards Officer Hendricks as he was backing up from (S) Lawrence Sterling as well. I “called off” my Police Service Dog from Officer Hendricks and redirected him towards (S) Lawrence Sterling. I saw (S) Lawrence Sterling face towards my Police Service Dog and follow his

movements. I saw no indication that he wanted to surrender peacefully and appeared to be preparing to attack my Police Service Dog as it came closer to him. I saw my Police Service Dog apprehend (S) Lawrence Sterling by his lower right leg and hold him with a firm bite. (S) Lawrence Sterling remained standing and began to thrash his leg in an effort to have my Police Service Dog release him. My Police Service Dog was not in a position of leverage to bring (S) Lawrence Sterling to the ground. I ran towards (S) Lawrence Sterling in order to use the diversion of my Police Service Dog and tried to take him to the ground. I grabbed (S) Lawrence Sterling by his upper body and tried to pull him backwards. Due to the strength and size of (S) Lawrence Sterling, I was unable to bring him down to the ground. I soon felt one of his arms encircle my head and neck as he reached back behind him. I soon felt another officer force (S) Lawrence Sterling down on top of me as we all fell to the ground. I got to my feet and maintained control of my Police Service Dog as other officers arrived to assist. I maintained control of my Police Service Dog by his flat collar as (S) Lawrence Sterling was handcuffed. Despite the continued struggling of (S) Lawrence Sterling I ordered my Police Service Dog to release (S) Lawrence Sterling and physically removed him to keep the nearby officers from being inadvertently ed. I immediately requested HFD and paramedics respond in order to provide (S) Lawrence Sterling with basic first aid for any injuries he may have. HFD arrived at 0143 hrs., less than five minutes after being requested. HFD Engine #4 tried to evaluate (S) Lawrence Sterling but he refused to allow them to come near him. He would curse and scream and attempted to kick the face of a paramedic who had leaned over to look at him with his left foot. (S) Lawrence Sterling repeatedly yelled that he was refusing to be treated and wanted no one to touch his leg. Officer Hendricks searched the (S) and I saw that the item attached to the front of his waistband was a black and silver metallic case for a cell phone or similar object. Photos of the item were taken and later placed into evidence. (S) Lawrence Sterling again refused medical treatment or evaluation from the

staff at St. Rose Emergency. I explained several times the importance of immediate aid, but he refused all offers. After over two hours of attempting to convince him to get treated, (S) Lawrence Sterling finally agreed and was treated at St. Rose ER. The treatment consisted of saline flushing and bandaging. Officer Hendricks continued the investigation at St. Rose. During his treatment I recorded statements on my department audio recorder and later ed them as evidence to a department server.

Chapter 7

PENAL CODE SECTION 141(b)

Icopied the police report on numbered pleading paper in order to reference the report swiftly. Now…I know what you’re thinking…especially after reading the police report and seeing the damaging photo with the beer can…Guilty, Right?! Well…don’t make up your mind just yet. Sadly, this is the attitude of the justice system that is set up to combat injustice for all citizens. We are supposed to be innocent until proven guilty. Well, let’s look at the police report closely before you jump to any conclusions. Unfortunately, for Blacks, we are guilty until proven innocent. No problem, keep read-ing. I’ll walk you through it. There are four points I would like to make. Pay very close attention or you may miss it. First and foremost, I would like to say that the empty Foster’s beer can does not belong to me. If you knew me, you would know that I prefer Heineken. Secondly, let’s take a closer look at the timeline of the incident. Both officers riding in a patrol car together state, Hendricks (page 49, line 11) and Johnson (page 45, Line 31), were still driving behind me at approximately 0135. Officer Hendricks was broadcasting his stop while following me (page 46, line 20). Officer Cox could not hear clearly (page 56, line 21). Officer Cox arrived at the scene at 0138 (page 56, line 29). So from the Officers testimony given themselves, from 0135 while they were still driving behind me, to 0138 when Officer Cox arrived at the scene, gives us less than 3 minutes for the following events to occur:

• The two Officers driving behind me traveling down W. Tennyson • Me getting into the left turn pocket on W. Tennyson • Turning left eastbound onto Oliver Drive without using my turn signal • Me supposedly speeding up quickly out of the turn (more on high speed turn later) • Officer Hendricks activating his emergency lights, then enough time for me to notice the lights and come to a stop in the strip mall parking lot • Officer Hendricks telling me to cut off my engine • Me looking out the driver’s window toward Hendricks and asking, “why are you stopping me?” • Then Officer Hendricks telling me a second time to turn my vehicle off (page 49, line 33) • Me getting out of the car and tossing my hat, then for me to go on this rampage that caused both Officers, Hendricks and Johnson (both armed with one firearm apiece, Tasers, batons, pepper spray and possibly a shotgun and/or M-16 in the cruiser), to be so afraid of me that they had to call in a code 3 and then a code 8 for backup • Having to need more time to wait for backup to receive the distress signal • And then enough time to respond and arrive at the scene all under 3 minutes from 0135 to 0138.

THE TIMELINE IN THE POLICE REPORTS THE THREE OFFICERS PROVIDED IS FABRICATED!!!

Thirdly, look at the photo (page 54) of the empty Foster’s beer can once more. In it, you can see my cell phone. The black and silver metallic item that Officer Cox said I was reaching for which was the whole reason he claimed for siccing the dog on me is sitting on the floor (page 57, line 15). Finally, let’s take a look at that photo evidence of the empty Foster’s Beer can (page 51, line 36). Let me ask you this…what are the chances that the empty beer can in the photo would still be sitting in its upright position after I sped up out of a turn in a 5.0, so fast that it would cause a police officer to be so concerned enough to pull me over? (page 49, line 20) You might ask, well where would the police officers get the empty beer can from? (page 56, line 30) Now stay with me…Officer Hendricks says Officer Ferreyra found the beer in the front enger seat (page 51, line 36), but from the photo that was submitted as evidence clearly shows that the empty can of beer is not in the front enger seat, it is on the floor. So Officer Hendricks is clearly mistaken in his sworn statement. Now here’s the whopper…Officer Hendricks states that Officer Ferreyra conducted an inventory search that was done (page 51, line 34). Now ask yourself, how could Lawrence Sterling III have placed the empty beer can there if he had already been attacked by the dog and apprehended? How is it possible that the can of beer ended up on top of the contents emptied out of the open glove compartment after the inventory search? It’s not possible. An inventory search was done then someone placed the empty can of beer there and took the picture to incriminate me. The person who took the picture obviously sat the can of beer there. Well, guess who took the picture? Answer: (page 53, line 33).

CALIFORNIA PENAL CODE 141(b) states:

Any Peace Officer who knowingly, willfully, and intentionally alters, modifies, plants, places, manufactures, conceals, or moves any physical matter, with specific intent that the action will result in a person being charged with a crime or with specific intent that the physical matter will be wrongfully produced as genuine or true upon any trial, proceeding, or inquiry whatever, is guilty of a felony punishable by two, three, or five years in a state prison.

Chapter 8

D.W.B. Driving While Black

When: June 05, 2010 approximately 12:45am Where: Hayward, CA, Tennyson exit

~This is my actual complaint submitted to the Hayward Office of Ethical Standards~

Inoticed who later became known to me as Officer Hendricks and I assume Officer Johnson (I called the Police Office to obtain Officer Johnson’s name because he was in plain clothes and didn’t have a visible badge), who was riding with Hendricks behind me, and noticed that he had been behind me since I crossed Calaroga Avenue which is about a block from the Tennyson exit off of Interstate 880. I was returning home from Oakland. I noticed that I left my wallet in Hayward so I went back home to get it. I proceeded west towards Oliver St. where I make the left turn to go three blocks to Lemon Tree Ct., to make a right turn to my apartment. I came to a red light still on Tennyson, and with Officer Hendricks still right behind me, I pulled off slowly, safely, and cautiously. Going westbound on Tennyson at about 25 miles an hour, I crossed Hesperian Blvd. and proceeded to Oliver St. I noticed that there was not a single car headed eastbound on W. Tennyson, nor were there any pedestrians in the crosswalk on any side of the street or on the sidewalks. It was approximately 12:40am.

I also noticed that Officer Hendricks was still right behind me, so before making a left turn onto Oliver St., I activated my left turning signal and made a left turn onto Oliver St., Officer Hendricks made the left turn as well. Officer Hendricks had been tailing me all of the way since I exited Interstate 880. I drove normal because my tags were up to date and I had a valid California issued driver’s license. I knew Officer Hendricks would have no valid reason to pull me over. I live at 27453 Lemon Tree Ct. in Hayward, which is about 100 feet from where I was stopped by the Hayward Police Department. I proceeded three blocks until I came to Lemon Tree Ct., where I would normally make a right turn into the cull de sac townhouses to go home, but because at this point I felt I was now being followed, I pulled into the well-lit parking lot across the street from where I live. My windows were already down. Officer Hendricks pulled just past the entrance of the parking lot, and then activated his emergency lights. From his vehicle, approximately fifty feet from my vehicle, Officer Hendricks shouted “cut your engine off!” I shouted back “I can’t, my starter is bad and I won’t be able to start it back.” I also asked what his reason was for pulling behind me after I stopped. Suddenly, two more police cars approached rapidly with their lights flashing and sirens wailing. From all of the commotion, lights and sirens, I didn’t know what was going on, the situation escalated, and I could no longer hear any instructions being directed at me from Officer Hendricks. In all of my experience, in a routine traffic stop for a minor traffic infraction, a police officer usually approaches the vehicle and says, ‘may I see your driver’s license, registration, and proof of insurance.’ This did not happen this particular night. I exited the vehicle with both hands raised and I tossed my hat on the ground in front of me in order for them to see my face because spotlights were on me. I wanted them to see my face and not end up shot as a case of mistaken identity. I was very confused because it seemed very unordinary that all of the police cars approaching were called just for me. I assumed that this was just a case of

mistaken identity and perhaps they got a call for someone who fit my description who may have recently been involved in a crime. No problem, I was prepared to explain that I stay right across the street at the Glen Eden Townhomes, and I was not they’re man. While standing there, I look over my right shoulder and I see five or six more police cars approaching rapidly with their lights flashing. It’s a pretty nice and quiet neighborhood and all of the noise was extreme. I look back around to face the police Officers who pulled me over and the police dog ran past me and up to Officer Cox wagging its tail. I didn’t think Officer Cox was going to sic the K-9 on me because there were six police officers at least, maybe more at the scene, and could have used less violent means to apprehend me if they felt I was being uncooperative. Besides that, I wasn’t actively fleeing, armed, gave anyone reason to believe I was armed, hiding, or resisting arrest. Without warning, and with both of my arms raised, Officer Cox gave the K-9 a command to attack me, biting my leg while he and Officer Hendricks tackled me to the ground. Me and Officer Hendricks bumped heads and I fell on my shoulder. I was subdued and handcuffed pretty quickly because I didn’t put up a fight because the dog was on my leg. The dog kept biting me for over thirty seconds after I was handcuffed. All of these events occurred all within 3 to 4 minutes after I pulled into the parking lot. With my leg bleeding bad and in excruciating pain, I was sat up on my rear end with a police officer’s name whose badge I could not see because of the position I was sitting in. The Officer had his knee in my back. At this point, Officer Paul Peterson approached directly in front of me, and while putting a fresh dip of chewing tobacco in his mouth said, “you lucky I didn’t get here first, I woulda’ Tased your black ass”. Now, this was shocking in itself, but not as shocking as the response, or lack thereof from the several Police Officers standing over me who were in very close proximity to hear him say that. Whom of which were Officer Johnson standing right behind the Officer with his knee in my back.

Officer Hendricks heard the racist comment, and Officer Cox, who was the Officer who sicced the dog on me, was standing next to Officer Peterson when he said it. No one said anything to correct Officer Peterson, which totally saddened me. I informed Officer Paul Peterson that I was a Navy Veteran. He then laughed and said that “the Navy is a bunch of pussies” and that “the Navy is a joke” and that “he was a Marine”, as he placed a fresh dip of chewing tobacco in his mouth. I asked him if there was a Hayward Police Department policy about dipping in uniform on a call, and the Emergency Medical Technician who was trying to treat my K-9 bite told me to “shut the fuck up”!!! So I did… After Officer Peterson finished with his Un-Patriotic remarks about the U.S. Navy and after further unprofessional remarks from the E.M.T., Officer Cox asked me “what I was doing in this neighborhood”. He asked me where I lived, and where I was from. Now, before the series of events that just took place, I would have explained to Officer Cox that I live 100 feet away, right across the street at the Glen Eden Town Homes. And also that I was returning home to get my wallet that I left behind prior to going out earlier that evening. No one asked me my name or informed me that I was under arrest. More importantly, no one read me my Miranda rights. Officer Hendricks asked me my name but I refused to give it to him at that point. They then conducted an inventory search and acquired my name and Oakland address from the registration in my glove compartment. They searched my car for no reason and then had it towed at 1:52am. I was not given a breathalyzer or a field sobriety test at the scene. Driving under the influence hadn’t even ed in my head as an issue because I was still trying to figure out why all of the police force was called to the scene for simply not using my turn signal. Since the E.M.T. told me to shut the fuck up, I did just that. I sat in silence. Officer Hendricks asked, but I didn’t even tell them my name. I only asked to speak to my dad and my lawyer. Officer Hendricks helped me to my feet and I limped to his squad car. He placed

me in the back seat. He did not read me my Miranda Rights, so I wasn’t aware of any arrest charges. Officer Hendricks and Officer Johnson then drove me to St. Rose Hospital and we went into the emergency room where we waited approximately fifteen minutes before I was seen. When they brought me in to see the nurse, I refused treatment yet again for my dog bite and only requested to be allowed to call my dad, and my lawyer. My request was denied. I was pretty upset and confused. Here, for some odd reason, Officer Cox commenced to touching me in order to cooperate with them as if we were old college buddies in a queer manner. This only aggravated me even more and I pleaded with Officer Johnson that it made me feel uncomfortable. I asked if he could tell Officer Cox to stop. Officer John-son said nothing. I refused treatment, requesting again to be allowed to call my dad and my family lawyer. My request was denied. Officer Hendricks then informed me that, “the only way I could use the phone was at Santa Rita County jail”. We were at St. Rose Hospital for approximately 45 minutes to an hour. The nurse then offered me two pain tablets and a paper cup of water for my leg. From what they could see, it was pretty bad, but I refused treatment because I wanted pictures taken and proper instructions from my attorney. I asked Officer Hendricks why I was under arrest, and what was the charge? He said “I was under arrest for resisting arrest”, which didn’t make any sense. I was never put under arrest, so how could I resist…and for what? He helped me to my feet from the stretcher I was lying on and I limped to his squad car from the wheelchair I was in and he sat me in the back of it again. He still to this point had not read me my Miranda rights. We waited another 10 to 15 minutes outside of the Hospital before being transported, to what I thought was going to be Santa Rita County jail like Officer Hendricks said, but was taken instead to the Hayward Police jail on Santa Clara and W. Winton Road instead.

Officer Johnson and Officer Hendricks and Officer Cox escorted me inside and sat me down. Neither one read me my Miranda rights. I asked if I could use the phone to call my dad and lawyer at this point. My request was denied. Officer Cox did say, however, that when they finished with the booking process, they would allow me to use the phone. So I cooperated. Officer Hendricks removed his handcuffs and an African American Policewoman whose name I don’t did my fingerprints. Afterwards Officer Hendricks sat me down. There was a water faucet on my right and I got some more water, a pretty good swig. I was thirsty. Then afterwards, Officer Hendricks said “hey you don’t get any water unless you ask me first” I said okay and I sat down. The African American policewoman and Officer Alejo, who would later ister me a fraudulent breathalyzer, witnessed this. Then after a short while, I asked if I could use the phone because now everyone was calm and relaxed. Officer Cox assured me that I would be able to use the phone shortly. Then I asked if I could use the restroom and Officer Cox assured me that I would be able to, but only if I would provide him a urine sample. I denied his request and because it wasn’t urgent for me to use the restroom, I told Officer Cox that I would just hold it. I requested to use the phone yet again and Officer Cox said once the booking process was complete. I asked what else was necessary to expedite the booking process, and Officer Cox told me that I had to submit to a breathalyzer to complete the process. I thought this to be unusual and un-routine because I was being booked for a violation I hadn’t been informed of yet, and still hadn’t been read my Miranda. So from my cell, I was led to a room adjacent to where I was istered a breathalyzer at approximately 3:45am. Officer Alejo, who had istered the test said that I had belched and that the test I gave was no good. He said that I must wait an additional twenty minutes and take it again.

Once again, I thought this had to be un-routine, but I am no DUI expert. I was led back to my cell where I again asked Officer Cox to use the phone to call my dad and my lawyer. My request was denied. About 20 to 30 minutes later, I was led back into the same room to retake the breathalyzer after a young lady was brought in and booked and given a breathalyzer. This was approximately around 4:15am and I was instructed to blow into a machine. After 3 attempts, I was led back to my cell. Afterwards, I asked Officer Cox since this completed the booking process, as I was told, could I now use the phone to call my dad and my lawyer. Officer Cox denied my request, and walked into the other room. He walked right past Officer Johnson who watched the whole booking process, but didn’t speak too much. I then pleaded with Officer Johnson from my cell, but he too walked away. At this point I felt that I had been shafted and began yelling at the top of my lungs how I felt my rights were violated. I wanted to use the phone and felt the involved officers were in total violation of procedure. My leg was still hurt and bleeding. After 10-15 minutes of this tirade from my cell, Officer Cox comes to my cell from the other room and asks me politely, “If I wanted to go free?” I told him no thank you, and that all I wanted to do since I was bitten, was to use the phone to call my dad and my lawyer. He told me that “I was only charged with a misdemeanor” and his main concern was getting treatment for my leg. I agreed. My ankle was severely swollen and the blood soaked on my pants leg was beginning to dry and the two pain pills that the nurse gave me at the hospital wore off a couple of hours earlier before I even took the breathalyzer. We leave the Hayward Police Department jail and go back to St. Rose Hospital. We get there approximately 5:45am. Officer Hendricks drove. Officer Johnson rode along in the enger seat. Officer Cox drove in his police car. We arrive at St. Rose Hospital at around 6am and Officer Cox handcuffed me to the bed.

The male nurse, whose name I didn’t catch, cut off my sock and poured purified water on my leg to see the damage. It was a very severe dog bite. Tan Nguyen MD was the attending physician. Once Dr. Nguyen saw the dog bite, he immediately suggested that I be given X-rays to make certain there wasn’t any damage to the bone. I fell asleep during the X-ray and when I awoke, Officer Cox asked Officer Johnson if he could “10-10”. Then he left the room. He left his handcuffs. His name was on them. At around 6:30 a.m., Officer Hendricks began to remove the handcuffs and said that I was “free to go”. I asked him where my car was. He said he, “had it towed”. I asked, “what for?” he said, “Because I was arrested”. I then asked, “what was I even stopped or arrested for?” He said for a DUI and driving with a .08 blood alcohol percentage. I thought this to be as absurd as over 6 cops, at least, siccing a dog on an unarmed man, and initially pulling me over for not using a signal with no probable cause. He still, to that point, had not read me my Miranda. He did however offer to call me a cab, but I explained to Officer Hendricks and Officer Johnson that my car was impounded and my keys were left inside. Taking a cab would not be feasible because I didn’t have any money. I left my wallet at home where I was returning before he pulled me over earlier that night. I couldn’t get into my apartment because they towed my car with the keys in it, all the way to Fremont. Officer Hendricks and Officer Johnson then offered their sympathy, and said that “there was nothing they could do”. They then left the hospital. Doctor Nguyen wrapped my leg in gauze which was already bloody before I left the hospital. I finally used the phone and called my father who drove me to Fremont to get my keys out of my vehicle. Even on the tow receipt it shows that my car was towed at approximately 1:52am, well before I was even given the breathalyzer at the jail. I ed Lieutenant Jason Martinez with the Office of Ethical Standards. In our initial phone conversation, Officer Martinez felt as if the dog bite was

warranted. He told me his decision was based on Officer Hendricks’ police report and from the audio tapes gathered from the incident. I visited the City of Hayward: Heart of the Bay website canine link. It even says that K-9’s are used for:

• SEARCHING CONFINED SPACES AND/ OR LARGE OPEN AREAS • TO LOCATE GUNS, MONEY, CLOTHING ETC. • LOCATE HIDDEN DRUGS • TRACK SCENT OF A SUSPECT OR MISSING PERSON • PROVIDE OFFICER PROTECTION

I feel I was racially profiled and followed. There was no need for a canine to be used on me for not using a turn signal and I certainly shouldn’t have been charged with a DUI. My times may be a little off, but to the best of my knowledge and considering everything that happened to me, and the time of night it was, this is a pretty accurate of what happened to me. I have included documents that help my complaint. After submitting this complaint on June 29, 2010, Internal Affairs did their own investigation and sustained my allegations. This was a pretty big deal. Police Officers rarely find against their own. While the investigation was underway, the Hayward Police submitted the charges. This meant that even though my complaint was valid, I would still have to go through the court process to get my charges dropped.

Injury from dog bite June 5, 2010

Injury from dog bite June 5, 2010

Racial Profiling - California Penal Code 13519.4

The commission shall develop and disseminate guidelines and training for all law enforcement officers in California as described in subdivision (a) of Section 13510 and who adhere to the standards approved by the commission, on the racial and cultural differences among the residents of California. The course or courses of instruction and the guidelines shall stress understanding and respect for racial and cultural differences, and development of effective, non-combative methods of carrying out law enforcement duties in a racially and culturally diverse environment. The Legislature finds and declares as follows:

• (1) Racial profiling is a practice that presents a great danger to the fundamental principles of a democratic society. It is abhorrent and cannot be tolerated. • (2) Motorists who have been stopped by the police for no reason other than the color of their skin or their apparent nationality or ethnicity are the victims of discriminatory practices. • (3) The working men and women in California law enforcement risk their lives every day. The people of California greatly appreciate the hard work and dedication of law enforcement officers in protecting public safety. The good name of these officers should not be tarnished by the actions of those few who commit discriminatory practices. • (4) “Racial profiling,” for purposes of this section, is the practice of detaining a suspect based on a broad set of criteria which casts suspicion on an entire class of people without any individualized suspicion of the particular person being stopped.

• (f) A law enforcement officer shall not engage in racial profiling. • (g) Every law enforcement officer in this state shall participate in expanded training as prescribed and certified by the Commission on Peace Officers Standards and Training. • (h) The course of instruction shall include, but not be limited to, adequate consideration of each of the following subjects: • Negative impact of biases, prejudices, and stereotyping on effective law enforcement, including examination of how historical perceptions of discriminatory enforcement practices have harmed police-community relations. • The history and the role of the civil rights movement and struggles and their impact on law enforcement. • Specific obligations of officers in preventing, reporting, and responding to discriminatory or biased practices by fellow officers.

A letter from the Hayward Office of Ethical Standards (Internal Affairs) sustaining my complaint concerning the City of Hayward Police actions the night of June 5, 2010

Chapter 9

POOR JESSE PORTER

When: May 29, 2011 Where: Hayward, California

Iwas bitten by Hayward police dog, Nikki, on June 5, 2010. It was determined that my arrest, search and seizure were unlawful, and that excessive force was used. The picture submitted by the police as evidence clearly shows that Officers Cox and Ferrerya committed a felony by violating California Penal Code 141(b). However, after all of this incriminating evidence, someone had the bright idea to allow Officer Cox and his K-9 to continue patrolling the streets. This was an unfortunate decision for Jesse Porter, an elderly man, who died shortly after his leg was amputated as the result of Nikki’s lethal bite. Jesse Porter’s family has filed a federal lawsuit, claiming the vicious attack occurred because officers negligently handled the animal. The lawsuit alleges that on May 29, 2011, less than one year after I was bitten, Nikki, caused the death of Jesse Porter, 89, after it violently attacked him, mutilating his leg in his own backyard. About 10:50 p.m., the officers lifted Nikki over an 8-foot security wall behind Mr. Porter’s residence and into his backyard, near Hayward Executive Airport. The dog spotted Mr. Porter and brutally and relentlessly mauled him in his left leg and dragged him backwards across the ground, the suit said. Porter was given emergency treatment at the scene and at an East Bay hospital. Porter’s leg became gangrenous and was later amputated above the knee. His health declined further, preventing him from returning home ever again. He died

in a rehabilitation center less than two months after the incident, on July 27, 2011.

Nikki

The full-grown German shepherd, imported from the Netherlands at a cost of $10,000, was under the command of Hayward Police Officer Loring Cox. The wrongful death lawsuit names the City of Hay-ward, three officers and thenpolice Chief Ron Ace as defendants, and says that Porter’s constitutional rights were violated. Police should not have blindly allowed the K-9 to go into the resident’s yard. Nikki’s handler did not warn Porter or take any precautions to protect the home’s residents before the animal was deployed, the lawsuit said. The city knew that the dog was dangerous and was likely to bite people because it bit me less than a year prior to Jesse Porter being bitten. The officers involved in my incident were supposedly disciplined. They probably got a slap on the wrist and a pat on the back. Whatever the punishment, the City of Hayward didn’t take it seriously! The suit said Officer Cox and the other officers involved in Porter’s incident claim they were searching for African American robbery suspects. The suspect’s description did not resemble Porter’s. I’m certain they were not looking for an 89 year old robbery suspect. Once again, Officer Cox lied in his police report. In his report, Officer Cox wrote that his dog had tracked a possible scent of the robbers and had “stopped and stared” at Porter’s wall. Cox states that he lowered Nikki over the 8-foot wall and onto the ground by his leash, which was 33-feet long. Cox also states that Nikki remained lying down once he reached the ground until Cox jumped down off the wall into Mr. Porter’s backyard. He claims once he was in the backyard, he gave Nikki the command to track. Officer Cox and Officer Purnell gave inconsistent statements. Officer Purnell testified that Nikki was searching Mr. Porter’s yard unsupervised, and that Cox was still standing on the wooden pallet, on the side of the wall closest to the business complex, when Cox announced that it sounded like Nikki had

apprehended the suspect. Officer Purnell states that Cox did not go over the wall and enter Mr. Porter’s backyard until after Cox announced the bite. The city of Hayward agreed to pay $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of Jesse porter who died two months after he was bitten by the police dog. The city had to pay $250,000, with the rest from insurance. The family’s attorney, Matthew Davis, said what happened here he would liken it to a police officer thinking that a suspect had gone into a house and firing gunshots blindly in the house.

Hayward Police Officer Loring Cox and Nikki

After doing some research, I come to find out that Nicky had bitten over 50 other people, three of whom were innocent bystanders. I just happened to be one of those unlucky bystanders. I found out that I was going to be called as a witness to testify in this case but both parties settled before going to trial.

Chapter 10

PUBLIC DEFENDER

When: June 7, 2011 Where: San Francisco, California

On June 26 the previous year, a 23-year old skateboarder named Matthew Hoyt was acquitted of two counts of battery stemming from charges from an altercation with two off-duty San Francisco police officers. Hoyt was riding his skateboard to the Pride festivities in the Civic Center area in San Francisco. Hoyt was traveling down Turk Street, when all of a sudden; a car drove up behind him and began honking furiously. Hoyt responded with an obscene gesture as he crossed the street. The off-duty cops drove up next to Hoyt and began to argue with him. After cutting several lanes toward Hoyt, the driver cut in front of Hoyt nearly running him off the road. Hoyt punched the driver through his open window and took off on his skateboard. The cop in the enger seat chased Hoyt as the driver cut him off with his car again, this time, causing him to fall off of his skateboard. Hoyt testified that he dodged the enger’s arms and punched him once before the men in the car identified themselves as police officers and then arrested him. Hoyt was ‘Cracker Jacked’. During the three- day trial, a witness from Santa Rita whose testimony helped the jury sway to an acquittal testified that he had a similar encounter with Officer John Anton. Officer Anton was identified as the cop who was riding along as the enger.

In 2008, the witness stated he made a legal right turn. Officer Anton, who was beside him on his motorcycle, began yelling and kicking his car. Officer Anton then followed him all the way to Novato, making a vulgar gesture and then riding off. The next day, the man was pulled over in San Francisco. Officer Anton appeared at the scene moments later, pushed him against a wall and arrested him. The witness testified he was also ‘Cracker Jacked’. Charges against the driver were later dropped by the district attorney. Walter McMath is a native of Oakland, California. Following graduation from Oakland’s prestigious Head-Royce School, Mr. McMath majored in Religion at Princeton University, with minors in Near Eastern Studies and Jewish Studies. McMath then worked two years as a paralegal for a New York antitrust firm. Thereafter, McMath enrolled at the Berkeley School of Law, commonly known as Boalt Hall. At the time, Mr. McMath had over three years’ experience in the field of criminal law. Since his ission to the state bar, he has appeared in a wide variety of misdemeanor and felony criminal matters, in various parts of the San Francisco Bay Area. Walter McMath is the Deputy Public Defender who represented the skateboarder, Matthew Hoyt, who was acquitted of punching the off-duty cops. He is also the public defender who represented me for my incident with the Hayward Police Department. At my arraignment, July 13, 2010, I stood before Judge Julia Spain in the City of Hayward Superior Court of California. Of course I plead not guilty. This day also served as a hearing to determine if I should be released on my own recognizance without being required to go to jail. Luckily, I wore one of my best suits to dissuade her from sending me to jail to await my next hearing. Judge Spain reluctantly allowed me to go home that day after a good tongue lashing and instructed me to make sure I appeared at all times and places as ordered by the court. I was not allowed to leave the State of California without permission of the court. Judge Spain had her doubts about me I could tell. Obviously she read the police

report. She too, was fooled by the fraudulent photo of the empty beer can Officer Cox took and placed into evidence. My criminal trial date was set for Halloween day, October 31, 2011. That Halloween would have been the first significant Halloween for me since I won 1st Place dres like Mr. T in the 1st grade. I met Walter McMath on June 7, 2011 and he was eager to get going on my case. Mr. McMath said, “We are gonna’ ask that they drop all of the charges…if they decide to go to trial, fuck it, we’ll throw everything in the book at em!!” I was glad that Walter McMath was on the case. Finally, there was someone else who shared my enthusiasm, and could clearly see that justice needed to be served. I felt as though my case was in good hands.

Chapter 11

THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA V. LAWRENCE STERLING III

When: September 12, 2011 Where: Hayward, California – Superior Court

Ionly had four counts this time. Again, just like in the case of the United States v. Lawrence Sterling III, I was innocent, but I still had to go through the proper procedures to fight them. I was charged with the following:

FIRST COUNT

The Undersigned, being sworn says, on Information and belief, that LAWRENCE STERLING III, did, in the County of Alameda, State of California, on or about June 5, 2010, commit a Misdemeanor, to wit: DRIVING UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF ALCOHOL OR DRUGS, a violation of section 23152(a) of the VEHICLE CODE of California, in that said defendant(s) did unlawfully drive a vehicle while under the influence of an alcoholic beverage.

SECOND COUNT

The Undersigned further deposes and says, on Information and belief, that said LAWRENCE STERLING III, did, in the County of Alameda, State of

California, on or about June 5, 2010, commit a Misdemeanor, to wit: DRIVING WHILE HAVING A 0.08% OR HIGHER BLOOD ALCOHOL, violation of section 23152(b) of the VEHICLE CODE of California, in that said defendant(s) did unlawfully, while having 0.08 percent and more, by weight, of alcohol in the blood, drive a vehicle.

THIRD COUNT

The Undersigned further deposes and says, on Information and belief, that said LAWRENCE STERLING III, did, in the County of Alameda, State of California, on or about June 5, 2010, commit a Misdemeanor, to wit: UNLICENSED DRIVER, a violation of section 12500(a) of the VEHICLE CODE of California, in that said defendant(s) did unlawfully drive a motor vehicle upon a highway without holding a valid driver’s license issued under the Vehicle Code of the State of California.

FOURTH COUNT

The Undersigned further deposes and says, on Information and belief, that said LAWRENCE STERLING III, did, in the County of Alameda, State of California, on or about June 5, 2010, commit a Misdemeanor, to wit: RESIST, OBSTRUCT, DELAY OF PEACE OFFICER OR EMT, a violation of section 148(a)(1) of the PENAL CODE of California, in that said defendants(s) did willfully and unlawfully resist, delay and obstruct OFFICER A. HENDRICKS who was then and there a peace officer attempting to and discharging the duty of his/her office and employment.

Turns out I didn’t even have to wait until Halloween for this bullshit. During one of the pretrial motions leading up to trial, Walter Mcmath gave the District attorney, Barbara Foo, a chance to look over discovery, including the

sustainment letter from the Office of Ethical Standards which said that my allegations in my complaint submitted were sustained. District attorney, Barbara Foo, reviewed the findings from the Office of Ethical Standards and dismissed all of the charges on the spot. Barbara Foo then signed a DMV 702 form which explains in detail why the charges against me were dismissed. The form stated that charges were dismissed because it was an unlawful arrest and an istrative investigation uncovered that excessive force was used and a weapon was improperly displayed. The wings of injustice never got a chance to take flight in this case.

Statement from District Attorney Barbara Foo explaining why she never filed charges submitted against me by the Hayward Police Department related to the incident on June 5, 2010

Chapter 12

ROC Arthur J. Raleigh April 14, 1977 - September 25, 2011

When: September 25, 2011 Where: East Oakland, California – 99th and Cherry St.

Not to be outdone by the B.A.R.T. police by shooting Oscar Grant in the back, one of my best friends growing up, Arthur ‘Roc’ Raleigh, was also shot in the back and killed by the Oakland Police Department. When we were kids, Arthur lived on 88th and Ban-croft which is a 10 minute walk from my house on 78th and Bancroft. We caught AC Transit and walked to school together. We knew each other before attending Saint Louis Bertrand elementary school on 101st and E.14th Street. If we caught the bus going home, Roc got off earlier, but for me, I would get off on 73rd and E.14th Street. I would then catch the 57 down 73rd to Bancroft and get off in front of Churches Chicken by Eastmont Mall. From there I would walk to 78th. Today, the 73 runs up and down 73rd. Roc’s mother, Vernesta, and my mother were both involved in home childcare. Back then, the East Oakland License Day Care Association would meet at ’ homes. At these meetings is where me and Roc would play. We both went to Saint Louis Bertrand and played basketball from the 4th to 8th grade. We graduated together from Saint Louis Bertrand in the 8th grade and then went to Bishop O’Dowd High School and played football. After one year at Bishop O’Dowd, Roc transferred to San Leandro High School.

Arthur Raleigh (centered)with his family

Arthur was shot in the back on 99th and Cherry, which was a route we took as kids on days when we decided to keep our bus money and buy candy at the store right next to S.L.B. We would walk home down Bancroft instead of catching the 82 down E.14th Street. Officer Bryan Franks got into a foot chase with Arthur after supposedly initiating a traffic stop. Officer Bryan Franks told investigators he had grabbed Arthur, causing both to fall, before Arthur dropped and then picked up a revolver. According to Franks, Arthur turned as if to fire and officer Franks fired his own pistol. The killing was filmed by Officer Bryan Franks’ chest camera, which was a first for a Bay Area officer. The footage to this day has not been publicly released. The Oakland Police has refused to show it to Arthur’s family. Arthur’s family sued the Oakland Police Department after unsuccessfully seeking to view the footage. Police have declined to release the video, saying the department and Alameda County prosecutors are still investigating the shooting. The revolver Arthur supposedly tossed while Franks was chasing him is not seen on the footage, but was found in a nearby yard after it was “apparently thrown by the suspect” during the last seconds of the encounter. Reports conclude that Officer Franks fired three times in three-quarters of a second. Arthur’s back was to the police until he stopped and surrendered. The shooting disturbed many neighbors on Cherry Street, located right behind Elmhurst Middle School in East Oakland. Witnesses tell a completely different story stating Arthur had his hands up to surrender at the time he was shot, according to an 11-year old Hispanic boy, who saw the shooting from his bedroom window. Once his hands were in the air, the police shot and killed him, one bullet piercing the gate where the young man stood and another going through his side.

The boy said he heard four gunshots and saw the suspect collapse onto the ground, face first. Blood immediately spilled across the sidewalk. The boy says Arthur collapsed and officers quickly handcuffed him, leaving him face-down on the sidewalk without istering first aid. Witnesses state there were three officers, including one who stepped on Arthur while he was lying on the ground bleeding from his mouth. The ambulance didn’t arrive until four hours later. Another witness says one officer approached him from behind on the sidewalk, while another ran around a parked trailer and approached him from the front. Moments later, the officer who stood behind Arthur fired his gun, striking him in the back. A Hispanic man who witnessed the incident stated that the police confiscated his cell phone after he took a picture of the shooting. He said the police asked if they could enter his home and he said yes and then gave them the cell phone. When the phone was returned, the pictures had been deleted A press release from the Oakland Police Department said the man had fled from officers during a traffic stop and threatened them with a gun, but did not specify whether the suspect was threatening the officers at the time of the shooting. Arthur was shot and killed at around 5p.m. that Sun-day afternoon, the coroner’s office removed Arthur’s body at about 9 p.m., four hours later. After Roc’s body was removed, the street was hosed down. Arthur’s family, consisting of a mother, wife, daughter, sister and brother that I know of, wasn’t notified until the following Tuesday afternoon. Police said they are still looking for the driver of the suspect’s car. The driver has not been found. Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan initially ruled in April 2012 that police officer, Bryan Franks, “should be fired”, over the shooting in East Oakland, which was filmed from the beeper-sized camera on Officer Franks’ chest. For some strange reason Chief Jordan has now changed his mind. Officer Franks has not been fired and is still on patrol.

Chapter 13

LAWRENCE STERLING III V. THE CITY OF HAYWARD

When: October 17, 1991 Where: Downtown Oakland, California

On October 17, 1991, 2Pac was stopped by two Oak-land Police Officers for jaywalking. In the State of California, jaywalking is just an infraction, but the fine that comes along with it could be as much as $191. I’m sure 2Pac, or anyone else, who would have received a jaywalking ticket with all of the turmoil that was going on, in and around Oakland at that time, would have been pissed off, knowing that Oakland Police had way more important issues to be dealing with than issuing jaywalking citations to celebrities. In 1991, the city of Oakland reached a record-breaking 164 homicides, three more than the previous year. It was the third consecutive year that Oakland had broken the previous year’s record in homicides. In 1989, the city had 148 homicides and in 1990 there were 161. In addition to stopping 2Pac for jaywalking, the officers began to hassle him, rudely demanding his name and identification. There was doubt on the part of the police officers that the I.D. was valid and the situation took a violent and brutal turn when the police threw 2Pac on the ground, slamming his face on the concrete while choking him. The police placed 2Pac under arrest and took him to jail where he stayed for several hours. The incident left a permanent scar on his face, and just like 2Pac, whenever he looked into the mirror, I am reminded daily of the daunting reality of police brutality whenever I put lotion on my lower right leg.

Ironically, 2Pac was ‘Cracker Jacked’ the same day his music video for “Trapped”, featuring Shock G from Digital Underground, debuted on MTV. In the video, 2Pac is shown being chased, thrown up against a wall, thrown to the ground, and then beaten by the OPD. This video, song, and the artist who performed it, are all legendary. 2Pac sought representation from Oakland’s own, legendary Civil Rights Attorney, John Burris. 2Pac and John Burris sued the City of Oakland for $10 million, and eventually settled for $42,000. John Burris’ daughter, a good friend and classmate of mine Monique Burris, attended Bishop O’Dowd High School in East Oakland. We were classmates and graduated together, class of 1995. I ed Monique first and told her what happened to me. She got the information about my case and set me up with an intake interview with Adante Pointer. Adante was also a good friend and classmate of mine from Bishop O’Dowd High School. He got kicked out of Bishop O’Dowd his senior year and didn’t graduate with us. It was good to see him bounce back and obtain the success he has being a lawyer. Adante is a Senior Associate at John Burris’ law firm. Arthur ‘Roc’ Raleigh, Monique Burris, Adante Pointer, and I were all in the same class of 1995 at Bishop O’Dowd. As a matter of fact, Arthur, Adante and I played football together as freshman at Bishop O’Dowd. We were all teammates at one point.

Arthur Raleigh, Adante Pointer and I as freshmen at Bishop O’Dowd High School

Once Adante looked at my case, he decided to take it. I signed a retainer for the Law Offices of John Burris, and Adante was on the case, he took a personal interest into it. At the time, Mr. Burris and Adante had their hands full handling the extremely controversial Oscar Grant case. To keep myself occupied, I enrolled in the Paralegal Studies program at the City College San Francisco, finalized my divorce and was inspired to write this book. On June 29, 2011 Oscar Grants mother was awarded $1.3 million in the wrongful death suit of her son. I was happy for two reasons. Number one, because Oscar Grant’s family received closure for the wrongful death suit. In a statement released by Adante Pointer, he says:

“No amount of money can replace a loved one, much less a person’s child. Overstanding that in the annals of our country’s history many wrongs committed against the black community have received little to no attention or compensation, I am proud to know that I was part of the effort to bring some form of justice and acknowledgment to the Grant family. However, by no means am I, nor should we as a community be satisfied.”

The second reason I was happy was because I knew that closing out the Oscar Grant case would free up time and attention to investigate my own suit against the City of Hayward. The sooner my case was over, the sooner I could get on with my life.

Civil Rights Attorney John Burris

In John Burris’ book, ‘Blue vs. Black’, he tells the stories of other clients he has represented who have been victims of police brutality and misconduct. In it, he says:

“My clients over the years have confirmed the truth in the old cliché: Bad things do happen to good people”.

Arthur and I were no different. I didn’t deserve to get bit and Roc sure as hell didn’t deserve to lose his life. John Burris has also chosen to represent Arthur’s family. Even with inconsistent statements from the officer involved and video evidence and the suspicious suppression of pictures and eyewitness testimony, Adante told me he settled the case for Roc and his family for only $50,000. I felt that was a disgustingly low amount for the life of my homeboy and his family but I guess they felt that’s how much a black man’s life is worth these days.

Chapter 14

VAN SEX

The Mystery Machine

When: 2003 - 2005 Where: Everywhere

Yandii Langston also attended Bishop O’Dowd High school and graduated along with me and Monique Burris in 1995. Yandii was a cheerleader and had a phat ass, it seemed to have gotten bigger after high school but she always had them big ass titties. In high school I used to try and squeeze her ass every day before Sister Mary O’Neill’s math class. Most times I was successful. I couldn’t help myself; Yandii was fine as fuck to me. She had these big brown eyes and nice thick lips. She reminded me of Kellita Smith from the Bernie Mac show. I think what I liked most about Yandii was her bubbly personality; she was always smiling or laughin’. We didn’t hook up in high school, but I ran into her after I finished up at Baylor and it was all good. I liked chillin’ with her not only because she had a bangin’ ass body but because she knew how to have fun and kick it. She liked to smoke and drank too. I liked chill-in’ with her but she was goin’ through a divorce at the time and I was getting the urge to the Navy. I couldn’t keep fuckin’ around, I had a life decision to make. Yandii was high maintenance too. She liked Fendi, Gucci, and Prada and all that type of shit. I mean what woman doesn’t? Not saying I don’t like expensive shit, but that kind of stuff just wasn’t important to me then. I had a 1984 Chevy van with the sliding door equipped with a sleeping bag I kept in the back. It proved to come in handy and saved me a lot of money by not having to buy rooms whenever me and Yandii would kick it.

I eventually drove the van to Washington where I was stationed in the Navy and traded it in for the Mustang. I saw Yandii at a preseason Raider game and we attempted to hook up in 2011. She told me to come over, but my license was still suspended after the incident with the Hayward Police Department. The charges hadn’t been dismissed yet.

Chapter 15

PETTIFOGGER

Adante Pointer

With the letter from the Office of Ethical Standards stating that my allegations were sustained, along with the DMV form signed by District Attorney, Barbara Foo, I figured this would be a pretty simple walk in the park case to handle for Adante Pointer. I began to become suspicious of the position Adante began to take on my case and the effort that he was putting into it. When he made himself available, we would talk briefly about my case, and from those conversations I would walk away feeling that we were on the same page. Sometime while my case was going on, it was recommended to students in one of my paralegal classes, to for a Public Access to Records . A PACER is an electronic public access service that allows s to obtain case and docket information from courts. The classes I took at CCSF proved to be helpful in aiding me in understanding what was happening in my own case. The first thing I learned in one of my litigation classes was if you are the defense, deny everything! The City of Hayward did just that. They’re defense was that I was indeed given a sustainment letter, but there was only one officer disciplined, Peterson, just for using chewing tobacco at the scene. To dispute that, all Adante would have to do is provide the letter from District Attorney Barbara Foo, signed under the penalty of perjury in the State of California, stating that an investigation was done proving it was an unlawful arrest and excessive force was used...right? Every time Adante and I would confer, Adante would tell me that the case has hit a brick wall because the letter from Internal Affairs was sustained just for Officer Peter-son using chewing tobacco, and nothing else. Adante suggested I take whatever the City of Hay-ward offers me and would vigorously try to dissuade me from proceeding to trial even with all of the

overwhelming evidence we possessed. I knew this was some bullshit from the jump. What I didn’t know was why this muthafucka kept arguing the City of Hayward’s defense instead of standing firm on the Office of Ethical Standards sustainment letter and the statement from district attorney Barbara Foo, which was signed under the penalty of perjury in the State of California. It was as if he was doing their job for them instead of fighting for me. I was bit by the dog and wasn’t charged with anything, and had a letter from Internal Affairs itting their officers were wrong who were ultimately disciplined for the incident. On top of that I had the statement from district attorney, Barbara Foo, explaining why she didn’t file charges against me. Barbara Foo didn’t drop all of my charges just because Officer Peterson was using chewing tobacco.

Overview The Internal Affairs Unit plays a crucial role in making the operations of the Hayward Police Department more transparent and able to the community we serve. A positive relationship between the police and the public they serve, fostered by confidence and trust, are essential to effective law enforcement.

To help accomplish this goal, it is the role of the Internal Affairs Unit to ensure that all employees of the Hayward Police Department comply with federal, state and local laws, as well as all departmental policies in the daily performance of their duties.

The Hayward Police Department is committed to a fair and consistent discipline process and has established the Internal Affairs Unit to receive, investigate, and resolve complaints of employee misconduct.

Duties include: • managing complaints against the Police Department employees and internal investigations; • reviewing Police Department policies, procedures and practices; • conducting audits within the Department • acting as liaison with the City Attorney’s Office.

For more information, please call Lieutenant Roger Keener at 510-293-7283

Sergeant Jeff Snell at 510-293-7059

Commendations We encourage our Police Officers and employees to be “service oriented” and to strive to achieve the highest standard of policing. This is anchored by our belief in Community Policing, our focus on service delivery at the neighborhood level, and our community partnerships.

Therefore, there is no greater recognition for them than to be complimented for their excellent service by a citizen. Everyone enjoys receiving recognition for their efforts and there is no question that most of our officers and non-sworn of the Hayward Police Department are doing an outstanding job in our demanding city.

Commendations can range from a citizen’s letter to an employee receiving a service medal. This may include acts such as unusual kindness, comion or courtesy, significant life-saving measures, or heroic acts. Commendations can also address everyday occurrences that have helped improve your quality of life, your neighborhood, or your community.

When providing commendation information in letter form, please describe the events or incident along with the name(s) of all involved. Let us know why they impressed you or assisted you. What action did they take that made the difference? Depending on the circumstances surrounding the events or incident the employee’s action will be considered and evaluated when deciding what level of recognition they will receive. In all cases the employee and their supervisor will be notified regarding the commendation received. The Chief of Police most often receives the information and the commendation will be placed in the employee’s personnel file.

Complaints The Internal Affairs Unit accepts and investigates allegations of misconduct where there is a question whether any Hayward Police Department employee was acting outside of policy and procedure. Cases investigated by the IAU originate with complaints filed by either the public (known as external complaints) or by departmental employees (known as internal complaints).

It is the responsibility of the IAU to conduct thorough, impartial, and timely investigations into allegations of misconduct or violations of the Hayward Police Department Policy and Procedure Manual, or any reported criminal conduct committed by a member of the department.

Upon completion of the investigation, your complaint will be classified with one of the following dispositions:

Sustained- The investigation disclosed enough evidence to clearly prove the allegation.

Not Sustained- The investigation failed to reveal enough evidence to clearly prove or disprove the allegation.

Exonerated- The act which provided the basis for the complaint did occur; however, investigation revealed the act was justified, lawful and appropriate under the circumstances.

Unfounded- The investigation has produced sufficient evidence to prove that the act or acts alleged did not occur.

No Finding- The complaining party and/or witnesses fail to cooperate after the investigation has commenced, the complainant withdraws the complaint, or the complainant is no longer available for clarification.

You will be notified of the finding in writing at the conclusion. When a finding of Sustained is determined, corrective action will be taken. Discipline may include counseling, training, and action up to and including termination.

By law, we cannot divulge information about discipline or other istrative action that may be taken in response to sustained findings regarding your complaint to you or anyone else.

How to Make a Complaint or Commendation A commendation or complaint may be made verbally or in writing at any time of the day or night to any police supervisory personnel. Usually, an explanation of the situation in person, by telephone, or by mail is all that is needed to initiate a review or investigation of the matter. If you call or come to the Police Department, you will be referred to an on-duty supervisor or Watch Commander. All complaints are reviewed by the Internal Affairs Unit and most are investigated by this office; however some investigations are referred to the involved person(s) direct supervisor for investigation.

How Internal Affairs classifies its findings. The investigation disclosed enough evidence to clearly prove the allegation. How could my attorney let them get away with saying my complaint “was sustained only because Officer Peterson was using chewing tobacco” at the scene?

When: May 13, 2013 Where: Mediator Robert T. Fries Office Suite – San Francisco Financial District

At the first settlement conference, the City of Hay-ward offered me $21,500. Adante initially asked for $75,000 which I thought was low, but he never discussed why or how he came up with the figure. He just informed me a week prior to the settlement conference. I wouldn’t have settled for a penny less than what he originally asked for, and I certainly wasn’t about to settle for no $21,500. My leg was fucked up and I knew my Civil Rights were seriously violated. I wanted action, but it didn’t seem as if my attorney shared the same enthusiasm. The morning before the settlement conference, I texted Adante and asked him if he needed me to bring anything…he told me “No”. During the settlement conference, I brought the letter from Barbara Foo to the mediator’s attention, and to my surprise, he had no idea of what I was talking about. He had not seen the statement from the district attorney. I asked to speak with Adante in private and asked him why he didn’t bring the letter. He says he left the letter at his office. He called his paralegal and had her looking for it in his office supposedly in a box on the side of his desk. I was pissed off. We had been negotiating for three hours without the main piece of evidence pertinent to my case and I was paying him $250 an hour. I asked Adante if he would rather have the sustainment letter from Barbara Foo than not have it. He said that he would rather have it, which is why I don’t understand why the hell he would leave it at his office. I left the City of Hayward’s offer on the table after being heavily urged by the mediator and my attorney to settle for $21,500. Why would he want me to settle without disclosing all of discovery? I figured I would fare better in court than in my settlement conference once my evidence was properly presented.

When: October 2, 2013 Where: Ron Dellums Federal Building – Downtown Oakland

Up to this point, I’ve heard sparingly from my attorney leading up to the second settlement conference. Since the first settlement conference, I had urged Adante to deposition the internal affairs investigators who investigated my case. He told me he would do so. I also urged Adante to keep trying to Barbara Foo and maybe call her as a witness. He told me he would do so. Adante told me personally that he planned to deposition Officer Cox, Officer Hendricks, Officer Johnson, Sergeant Raymond Sisson (K-9 Unit Supervisor), Lieutenant Bryan Matthews (K-9 Unit Manager), and Bob Palermini (Field Operations Division Commander). Adante called me on the Thursday prior to the Wednesday before the second settlement conference to notify me the date was coming up. As far as I knew, we were headed to trial May 14, 2014 because I turned down the City of Hayward’s initial offer. During that call, Adante told me that he had only depositioned two of the six Officers. He told me Officer Hendricks no longer worked for the City of Hayward Police Department, and that he had trouble scheduling a deposition with Officer Johnson, but had planned to take his deposition before the settlement conference the following Wednesday. He also told me he would call me into his office to go over what he had discovered from the depositions of Officer Cox and Lieutenant Matthews. It seemed to me as if he was supposedly doing everything at the last minute. Suspiciously enough, Adante sent me a text message telling me he had to get in with the City of Hay-ward attorneys over the weekend and if their offer of $25,000 was still on the table, would I take it?

Why would he want to disclose what I would take before the settlement conference even began? I suggested to Adante that we should wait until the conference to let them know what I would or would not take. He totally agreed. Monday came and I did not hear from Adante to go over the depositions. On Tuesday night, before the second settlement conference, I received a text message from Adante giving me the time and location of the conference. Judge Kandis Westmore was the mediator in my second conference. Once again, I brought up the sustainment letter from the Office of Ethical Standards and the statement from district attorney, Barbara Foo. Interestingly enough, Judge Westmore found both documents to be compelling and wondered why she hadn’t seen them before. I wondered the same fuckin’ thing. Along with her notes, Judge Westmore went into the adjacent room to show City of Hayward attorney, Michael Lawson, the intriguing discovery. While waiting for the judge to return, me and Adante started to chop it up. I hadn’t heard from him in months and asked what he had been up to. The conversation went like this: Me: “What’s been up?” Adante: “ I just had a baby….” Me: “Oh wow man, congratulations…boy or girl?” Adante: “a boy…” He didn’t sound too enthused. After a few moments he says, “you’ll never guess by who tho’…” I took a couple guesses and gave up. I finally asked, “by who?” He took a long pause and says, “Yandii Langston…” I chuckled a little bit and said, “say man, you know I used to knock them down a while ago…” He nodded his head as if he already knew. I asked him, “Does Yandii know you’re representing me?”

He says, “well no, I don’t usually discuss my cases with anyone.” I asked him, “are y’all together?” He told me, “No” Like Ivette Davila, I knew he was lying, and now I finally knew why. A couple of minutes later, Judge Westmore returns with notes she jotted down from talking to the City Attorney from Hayward. Again, and to my surprise, Judge Westmore informs me that today was the first time the City of Hayward attorneys had seen the sustainment letter from the Office of Ethical Standards and the statement from district attorney, Barbara Foo after three years. They told Judge Westmore they were prepared to submit a motion to not it the two documents because the discovery deadline had ed. Judge Westmore urged that I take the City of Hay-ward’s offer because me walking away with absolutely nothing was a real possibility. She warned me that the City of Hayward could invoke Civil Procedure Rule 68 which says whatever amount the city offers, if I chose to decline, is greater than the amount I could be awarded in court, I would have to pay the difference. For example, if the City of Hayward offered me $25,500 and I decide to go to trial and I am awarded $10,000, I would have to give the City of Hayward $15,500, leaving me $5,500 in the hole. Without the sustainment letter and the statement from Barbara Foo being submitted as discovery in a timely fashion, I had no choice but to take their offer. On top of that, I had to sign a confidentiality agreement that says I can’t tell how much I settled for. It sure was odd for a civil rights attorney to receive compensation from wrongdoing of a police department and not publicly claim victory, even if it was small. Adante did the opposite and tried to suppress the details of my case. Again, I was pissed off. I felt like I was betrayed by Adante on two levels, as my

attorney and as a friend.

When: November 3, 2013 Where: Oakland Coliseum – Raiders vs. Eagles

About a month after my settlement conference, my Uncle Dwight was getting ready to go visit Waco and needed my help cutting his grass. To show his gratitude for my help, he gave me two tickets to a Raider’s home game against the Philadelphia Eagles on November 3, 2013. I chose to go to the game with my dad. We hooked up with my cousins Paul and Kevin at a tailgate and hung out a bit before going into the game. On my way to put my cooler into the trunk before going into the game, guess who I run into? You guessed it, Adante and Yandii walking into the game together. As I walked past, I reluctantly gave Adante some dap and gave Yandii a silent salute as they ed by. Up to that point, I felt uncertain about submitting a complaint package to the California Bar Association just a couple days prior to seeing them. Come to find out, California is the only state in the Nation with independent professional judges dedicated to ruling on attorney discipline cases. What are the odds of that? Depending on the seriousness of the offense, a lawyer can be given a warning, put on probation, suspended from practicing law for a period of time or disbarred. I hollered at Yandii back in February of 2013 attempting to kick it…we chatted briefly via Facebook messenger but she failed to mention that she was 2 months pregnant with my attorney’s baby. With my back turned to Yandii and Adante as we ed each other, I couldn’t control the smile developing on my face, because seeing them at the game helped me put two and two together and knew I made the right decision. Fuck em’ both…

The End

Postscript

BREAKING NEWS

Hayward paying $225,000 to settle police dog attack lawsuit

By Rebecca Parr The Daily Review POSTED: 01/30/2014 04:50:33 PM PST UPDATED: 7 MONTHS AGO

HAYWARD — The city will pay $225,000 to settle a lawsuit filed because of a police dog attack, the third such settlement in less than a year. In the most recent case, a Hayward police dog bit a worker at a kennel where the animal was being boarded in 2011. The attack occurred at Breton’s School for Dogs & Cats in Danville, according to court documents. When police officer Vince Celes tried to put a collar and leash on the dog, Nero, it broke away and lunged at kennel worker Jose Rojas. “The kennel worker tried to go up a fence, and the dog latched onto one of his legs after having bitten the other one,” said Hayward City Attorney Michael Lawson. Rojas was later hospitalized for complications from an infection. The City Council approved the $225,000 settlement at its Jan. 21 meeting.

“Mr. Rojas has returned to work at the kennel, and the city of Hayward is no longer using this kennel to kennel our police department canines,” Lawson said. Nero has been retired, he said. In the second case, the council on June 18 agreed to a$1.5 million settlement with the family of Jesse Porter, 89. Porter was attacked in 2011 when Officer Loring Cox lifted a police dog, Nicky, over a wall into Porter’s Hayward yard. The police were searching for a suspect after a robbery at a nearby restaurant. A few days after Nicky bit Porter on the calf, he developed gangrene and his leg was amputated above the knee. He never returned home and died in a rehabilitation center less than two months later, said Matthew Davis, a San Francisco attorney who represented Porter’s family. The third case occurred 11 months earlier, when Cox loosed Nicky as officers were confronting Lawrence Sterling. What started as a traffic stop escalated and officers felt threatened, said assistant city attorney Joseph Brick. The dog bit Sterling on the ankle, and police took him to St. Rose Hospital to treat the wound. The city settled with Sterling for $25,500. “The expense of further discovery and going to trial would have been far greater than the amount of the settlement,” Lawson said. Nicky also is retired. Rebecca Parr at 510-293-2473 or follow her at 510-293-2473.

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